Kapetanovic may not return to M. Hoops

Unhappy with his playing time with the Quakers, forward Oggie Kapetanovic is hoping to play in Europe next season. Penn men's basketball player Oggie Kapetanovic has recently indicated that he may not return for the 2000-01 season. Citing frustration over playing time, Kapetanovic informed Penn coach Fran Dunphy of his feelings during a meeting last week. "I've been thinking about graduating and going overseas and playing ball there, because I want to play ball," said Kapetanovic, who has one year of eligibility remaining. "I feel like if I stayed here, I'd get similar time to what I got this year." Kapetanovic averaged 12.9 minutes per game this season, scoring 3.9 points and pulling down 2.6 rebounds per contest. A Wharton student, Kapetanovic is taking six classes this semester. If he is able to find a roster spot on a European team, he will take three summer classes in order to graduate early and begin playing next season. He plans to attend a camp in May in order to see what options are open to him. If Kapetanovic is unable to land in a good European league, he will return to Penn next year. "Our hope is that Oggie will come back, but that is obviously up to him," Dunphy said. Kapetanovic, a 6'10" forward/center, started in Penn's first game of the season, a 67-51 loss to Kentucky on November 17. For the rest of the season, however, he came off the bench to back up center Geoff Owens and forward Ugonna Onyekwe. Owens, who will petition the Ivy League for a fifth year of eligibility after missing his sophomore season with a medical condition, and Onyekwe, the '99-00 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, will both be returning to the Quakers' frontcourt next season. Kapetanovic sees little opportunity to get more playing time. "This year, there were some games when I played 19, 20 minutes a game, but it wasn't regular," Kapetanovic said. "I felt my playing time was based more on whether Owens or Ugonna was playing bad or in foul trouble. "I felt like I was just a sub. I want to play ball, and I want to play a lot." This past season, one which saw the Quakers win their second straight Ivy League title, was Kapetanovic's first playing for Penn. After beginning his career at Brown -- where he averaged 6.9 points while starting 20 of 26 games as a sophomore -- he transferred to Penn prior to the '98-99 academic year. Per NCAA rules, he was required to sit out a season. Midway through this past season, Kapetanovic became frustrated with his situation at Penn and decided to register for six classes, thus keeping his options open. "I started thinking about it in the beginning of February, right before the deadline for classes," Kapetanovic said. "I didn't tell any of the coaches then, because I thought it would be selfish of me to say something in the middle of the season." Last week, however, Rosemarie Burnett, the Penn Athletic Department's academic coordinator, noticed Kapetanovic's unusually heavy course load. Dunphy called him in for a meeting to discuss it. It was then that the coach first learned of Kapetanovic's intentions. Kapetanovic also met with Compliance Coordinator D. Elton Cochran-Fikes to discuss his future. As long as he does not make an agreement with an agent or sign a contract with a professional team, Kapetanovic will be eligible to play for Penn next season. In exploring his chances to play overseas, though, he will have an advantage over many other players seeking similar opportunities. Since he is a dual citizen of Canada and Yugoslavia, Kapetanovic will not be subject to the limit of two American players per team that is a rule in most European leagues. Dunphy said that he will do whatever he can to help Kapetanovic find a place to play next season, but the coach hopes that Kapetanovic will change his mind about returning to the Quakers. "I would love to see him play [for Penn]," Dunphy said. "But I will respect whatever he wants to do."

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