Pilots add Drazen Petrovic’s nephew to their roster

By Rob Miech

Monday, July 13, 2009 | 6:51 a.m.

Findlay College Prep has added two more players to its 2009-10 roster, including another star attraction in the nephew of the late Croatian star Drazen Petrovic.

Marko Petrovic, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard from Zagreb, Croatia, has been a prominent player on his country’s junior national team.

Findlay coach Mike Peck will also welcome Dekeeba “Keeba” Battee-aston to his next squad.

A 6-8, 225-pound forward from Brisbane, Australia, Keeba, who will be a sophomore next season, goes to the Henderson program from a stint at Richland High in Forth Worth, Texas.

Both are expected to report to Findlay a couple of days before the start of classes at the Henderson International School, with which the Pilots are affiliated, on Aug. 17.

"We are excited to have both of them join us," Peck said. "They are great fits for what we need and how we want to play. We expect great things from both of them."

Petrovic, 17, likely will attract the most attention, since his uncle is considered to be the best European to play the game.

Drazen Petrovic was hailed in his war-torn country when he led Croatia to the silver medal – it lost to the first American Dream Team – at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

He played for Portland and New Jersey, and in 2002 he was posthumously enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

"Drazen got it started for us," Turkish forward Hedo Turkoglu told ESPN The Magazine. "It was his heart. He brought a lot of energy to the court when people didn't know European players could be like that."

In June 1993, Drazen Petrovic was killed in an accident on a rain-slicked autobahn in Germany.

Battee-aston, whose father Don played at Wichita State and professionally overseas, played center for the Richland Rebels and is considered more of a rebounder than scorer.

Peck will also have guards Nigel Williams-Goss and Jabari Brown on board this season, joining a team that went 33-0 and won the first ESPN National High School Invitational in April.

Guard Cory Joseph and forward Tristan Thompson are poised to be the senior leaders next season, and forward Godwin Okonji is the other returning Pilot. Peck said Rasham Suarez, a sophomore guard last season, will not be re-enrolling in 2009-10.

Peck has three or four more prospects to add to his roster, and he said he might have 11 players this season. He had nine most of last season, which became eight by the time Findlay defeated Oak Hill for the ESPN title in Maryland.