
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 8, 1993                   TAG: 9306080232
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Medium

WRECK KILLS PETROVIC NETS GUARD DIES IN GERMANY

New Jersey Nets guard Drazen Petrovic was killed in an automobile accident in Germany on Monday, his attorney said.

Nicholas Goyak said from his home in McMinnville, Ore., that he had spoken with members of Petrovic's family and they confirmed that the Croatia native was killed in the accident.

Petrovic, 28, one of the NBA's top guards, was a member of Croatia's silver medal-winning Olympic team. He left the United States after the Nets were eliminated from the playoffs not sure whether he was going to return to the NBA or play with a European club next season.

He had just finished playing with Croatia in the qualifying tournament for the European championships in Wroclaw, Poland. The team advanced to the June 22 championships in Germany.

Petrovic, who was selected to the All-NBA third team, averaged 22.3 points on 52 percent shooting and was one of the league's top 3-point shooters.

His contract with the Nets had expired after this season, and Petrovic was upset that the club did not offer him a new contract until March.

Right after the Nets were eliminated by Cleveland in first round of the playoffs, Petrovic said he probably would play in Europe next season.

"I took a chance, played the whole year without a contract," Petrovic said the day after the Nets season ended. "I have to do what's best for me and now definitely more money is coming from Europe. A lot more."

The Nets offer reportedly was $15 million over five years, one that would have made Petrovic second only to Michael Jordan on the pay scale among shooting guards.

Petrovic was acquired by the Nets on Jan. 23, 1991 from Portland for a first-round draft pick in 1992. He was still a raw talent when he arrived but he developed quickly with added playing time.

A pure shooting guard, he averaged 12.6 points in 61 games after the trade and boosted his output to 20.6 points the following year and led the Nets this season with the 22.3-point average.

His average dipped to 15.6 points in the playoff loss to Cleveland. He sprained ligaments in his left knee in March and missed almost a month of action.

by CNB