Pistons draftee almost played at UB
Jonas Jerebko’s road to becoming a second-round draft pick of the Detroit Pistons on Thursday almost went through Buffalo.
It was November 2005, and Jerebko had just signed a letter of intent to play for the University at Buffalo. Reggie Witherspoon knew he had a steal on his hands. Jerebko was 6-foot-8. He could dribble and pass and shoot the jumper. He was a good athlete, and a fierce competitor. Give the kid a year or two and he could be the best player in the Mid- American Conference.
“All along, I said he was going to blow up some day,” Witherspoon said Wednesday. “I just hoped he was at UB when it happened.”
Jerebko, a Swede, had a soft spot for Buffalo. His father, Chris, was an All-Western New York player for St. Francis. Chris played at Syracuse under Jim Boeheim from 1977-81, in the Roosevelt Bouie-Louis Orr days. He played pro ball in Sweden, met his future wife, Elaine, and settled down in Sweden for good.
The kid’s uncle, Pete, played at Depew High, then at Le Moyne College under John Beilein. Pete is the
athletic director at Erie Community College, where Beilein and Witherspoon once served as head coach. So when Jonas was considering college ball in the U. S., his two choices were UB or West Virginia, where Beilein was the head man.
He picked UB. But Jerebko never came. A few weeks after signing, he changed his mind. Because of an injury to a teammate, he converted to point guard for his club team in Sweden. A pro team saw him play the point and was dazzled by his all-around hoop skills. It made him an offer and Jerebko turned pro in Sweden during his last year of high school.
Jonas indeed “blew up” and caught the eye of Italian scouts. Two years ago, he moved on to Angelico Biella, an Italian “A” league team outside Milan. Jerebko grew to 6-9. He put on 30 pounds. He continued to evolve as a skilled perimeter player and pro prospect.
Thursday night, Jerebko realized every hoop star’s dream. He heard his name called in the NBA draft, going 39th overall to the Pistons.
Jerebko had expected to be taken somewhere between the 25th and 35th pick. But Pete Jerebko said his nephew might have slipped because he wanted a chance to play right away in the NBA. Teams often “stash” their young European prospects overseas to let them develop.
“He made it clear he didn’t want to go back to Europe,” Pete Jerebko said late Thursday night from the draft in New York. “He feels good about getting on [Detroit’s] roster next year. They have every intention of putting him on the roster and not back in Europe.”
Jonas had said before the draft that he didn’t care where he was taken, as long as he went to a team that wanted him to play right away.
“I don’t really care if I go 21 or 47,” he said. “The number is not the big thing. There’s a lot of second-round picks who could have been firsts.”
Jerebko said he had no regrets about staying home to play pro. He liked the school and the coaching staff at UB. But it’s evident that he made a good choice.
NBA scouts say Jerebko is still an unpolished prospect. He needs to refine his offensive game and become even stronger to compete at the highest level. But he is smart, a quick study, and his perimeter skills have drawn comparisons to two other European NBA players — Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu and Denver’s Linas Kleiza.
And just being at the NBA draft was the thrill of a lifetime for all concerned . . . so far.
“It’s incredible, really,” Chris said. “It’s something Jonas and I have dreamed about. It’s been his goal all along. Two months ago, we thought he might not be ready. But he established himself in the Italian playoffs. He’s turned the corner.”
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