Oggie leaves M. Hoops for Europe

Oggie Kapetanovic's first season in the Red and Blue will be his only one. Kapetanovic, who transferred to Penn from Brown after his sophomore season, was forced to sit out the Quakers' entire 1998-99 season due to NCAA regulations, and thus had one year of eligibility remaining after this past year. "I've been thinking about graduating and going overseas and playing ball there, because I want to play ball," Kapetanovic told The Daily Pennsylvanian in April. "I feel like if I stayed here, I'd get similar time to what I got this year." Kapetanovic graduated from Wharton this summer after taking six classes last spring and three during the first summer session. A Yugoslav native, Kapetanovic had been playing for an AAU-level team in Sarajevo, his father's birthplace. He is now trying to land with a team in Europe and was unavailable for comment. Kapetanovic's dual citizenship in Yugoslavia and Canada will allow any European pro team that picks him up to circumvent the "two Americans per team" rule, and his 6'10", 235-pound frame should be an additional help in attracting attention. While Kapetanovic started last season's opener in the Preseason NIT against Kentucky, he averaged only 12.9 minutes per game on the year. The forward scored just 3.6 points and grabbed 2.9 rebounds per contest last season. Penn coach Fran Dunphy found out about his forward's decision when Kapetanovic left a message on Dunphy's voicemail in late July. "Oggie chose to go overseas, and I wish him the best," Dunphy said. However, the coach, who said that Kapetanovic never sought his advice on the matter, thinks that his former player should have thought a little harder about staying. "My recommendation would have been for him to come back," Dunphy said. "I understand it a little bit, sort of. Do I agree? No, I don't agree with what he's doing. My whole thought process is I hope he doesn't regret not playing another year of collegiate basketball." Responding to the lack of playing time to which Kapetanovic alluded in April, Dunphy said that nothing was set in stone and that Kapetanovic -- who got most of his minutes backing up senior center Geoff Owens and sophomore forward Ugonna Onyekwe -- could very well have seen more action in the upcoming season had he elected to stay. "He said that he didn't get enough playing time and that he wanted to play," Dunphy said. "Well, Geoff and Ugonna were healthy all last year. If they don't stay healthy this year or if Oggie stepped up his game, he could've gotten to play more [next season].

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