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

DATE: TUESDAY, September 21, 1993                   TAG: 9309210022
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MOSCOW                                LENGTH: Medium

PLAYERS GO TO RUSSIA WITH LOVE FOR GAME

Steve Wright, a 6-foot-9 center from Syracuse, N.Y., and Tony Turner, a 6-foot-8 forward from Atlanta, have signed contracts to play this season for Moscow's new Spartak club.

Despite some impressive rebounding by Wright and glue-on-you defense by Turner, Spartak lost on opening night to crosstown rival Dynamo 89-68.

A few spectators were disappointed with the Americans. "Where's the CIA? Where's Star Wars?" one man grumbled in the halftime line for ham sandwiches.

Other fans were more patient. "You can see they have great professional capabilities, but they don't know anyone. They just look uncomfortable," said Andrei Zakarov, 36.

Both Americans had arrived in Russia less than 48 hours earlier. They still couldn't quite believe it.

"I didn't even know they had basketball until my agent told me about it," said Wright, 28, who has played professionally in Spain, France, Argentina and Venezuela.

Turner, 22, was the leading scorer last year for Providence College.

Spartak's general manager, Sergei Popov, said he was counting on the "exotic" presence of two towering African-Americans to draw fans and improve the level of play in Russia's Championship Basketball League.

The 3-year-old league has 20 teams that gradually are turning professional, adding more salaried players as revenues permit.

Wright and Turner said they would receive between $40,000 and $60,000 each for the season, several times what most Russian players get.

Spartak claims not only to have the first American players, but also to be the first privately owned, fully professional club in Russia. Popov said it was formed this year by two Russian companies with investors from Austria, Israel and the United States.

The coach is Sergei Selivanov, 42, former trainer of the Soviet junior national team. He said he hoped the Americans would help reverse the trend in Russian basketball of first-rate players moving abroad.

No Russians have made it to the NBA yet, but Dmitry Minayev is playing professionally in Spain, Dmitry Sukharev in Austria and Elshat Gadashev in Latvia.

"We are a land of talent," Selivanov said. "The U.S. is above us, but with all the other countries in the world, we'll be ready to compete in the near future."

Wearing sweats and hightops, Wright and Turner sat sleepily through an hour-long news conference Monday, not understanding a word as Spartak officials introduced them in Russian.

Finally, Turner got a chance to ask a question of his own. "I hear it's not safe to walk alone at night?" he asked.

The answer was that even Moscow muggers might think twice before jumping someone his size.