Few 'Sure Things' at SuperDraft

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- What Patrick Nyarko did or didn't do at Major League Soccer's annual predraft Combine this week means virtually nothing. The Ghanaian striker, who has turned pro following a phenomenal junior season at Virginia Tech, is one of the few sure things, it seems, available in Friday's MLS SuperDraft in Baltimore.

His name has been bandied about all week as the likely first selection, and Tuesday's trade -- the expansion San Jose Earthquakes sent the top pick to Kansas City for veteran defender Nick Garcia -- sure seems to cement it. The Wizards haven't identified whom they'll take with the pick, if they don't trade it away, but suddenly they need offensive help, and Nyarko is the best help they'll find in a draft that's long on defensive players but not so on attackers.

Eddie Johnson, who netted 15 goals for K.C. last season, is finalizing a transfer deal for nearly $6 million to struggling English Premier League side Fulham, where he will join fellow Americans Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey, Kasey Keller and Brian McBride. And Davy Arnaud, who had a terrific 2007, with four goals and nine assists, will miss the start of the year after undergoing a second knee surgery during the offseason.

Nyarko, who scored 31 goals and 24 assists in three years at Virginia Tech, wasn't at his best in Combine games Sunday and Tuesday at Lockhart Stadium, but he showed off his speed, touch, vision and keen passing ability. As one of seven "Generation adidas" players, he will not count against the roster size or salary cap, so this one's pretty simple.

And the Wizards weren’t done dealing. They sent Jose Burciaga Jr., an attacking back who is a defensive liability, to Colorado for a 2009 draft choice. The Rapids have the fifth pick Friday and have been looking closely at UCLA/U-23 outside back Chance Myers, another “Generation adidas” Combine standout, but Burciaga’s arrival could mean coach Fernando Clavijo will address other needs with the selection.

Nyarko is aware of the talk that he'll be No. 1, but he's not putting too much stock into it.

"(I'm not hearing) anything concrete because they keep saying everything keeps changing really until draft day," he said. "But to be No. 1 would be great. There are absolutely great players in this draft, and if I end up being the No. 1 pick, I will be honored and I will be ready to go."

The other big attacker in the Combine was UC Santa Barbara playmaker Eric Avila, another player from the "Generation adidas" pool. He was on display Sunday, when the draft-eligible U.S. under-23 players -- training in Bradenton, Fla., in preparation for Beijing Olympic qualifiers -- made the trek south to Fort Lauderdale, and he was easily the most creative midfielder in the six Combine games.

A number of teams need attacking help, but there's only so much available. Gonzaga's George Josten looked good -- he scored a Combine-best three goals -- and Washington's Kevin Forrest and North Carolina State's Ed-Hadj Cisse helped their causes. Ohio State's Xavier Balc, who came into the Combine among the most lauded forwards, was a big disappointment, but he'll get his chance. Winthrop's Saidi Isaac, a speedy Kenyan forward left out of the Combine, is a sleeper.

Liberian-born Alex Nimo, just 17 (and a "Generation adidas" player), has a huge upside, but he'll need a couple of years to develop. He's more provider than scorer. Haitian national-teamer Ricardo Pierre-Louis, the NAIA Player of the Year out of Tennessee's Lee University, made an impression with his explosiveness, but he, too, needs seasoning.

Those looking for defense, such as Los Angeles – which solved some of its attacking needs by acquiring Carlos Ruiz, its former star, from FC Dallas – New York, D.C. United and K.C., have plenty to choose from. Connecticut’s Julius James is the best center back available, and he could go to FC Dallas (with the No. 2 selection), Real Salt Lake (with No. 3) or the Galaxy (with No. 4). Others available are UC Santa Barbara’s Andy Iro, the most physically imposing backliner in the Draft, Ohio State’s Eric Brunner and Wake Forest’s Pat Phelan and Julian Valentin.

Old Dominion's Yorby William, from Cameroon, and Michigan State's Rauwshan McKenzie, who can play centrally or outside, helped their causes with fine Combine performances.

The best of the outside backs are Myers, Cal State Northridge's Sean Franklin -- another U-23 player -- and Furman's Jon Leathers, all of whom could be first-round selections.

The best of the college midfielders are Duke's Michael Videira, who missed the Combine because of injury; California's Andrew Jacobson, who could immediately step into a holding role; and Santa Clara's Peter Lowry. Furman's Shea Salinas, playing with facial fractures, also made an impression in Fort Lauderdale.

Versatile "Generation adidas" midfielder Brek Shea, 17, was the breakout star of the Combine. He seems best suited for a wing role -- watch for him to be taken early.

This is a good year to be a goalkeeper. Several teams -- Chicago, L.A., Colorado, Houston, New York -- need backups, and there are some good ones available. Tulsa's Dominic Cervi, who stands 6-foot-6, might have had the best Combine: U.S. U-23 coach Peter Nowak whisked him away to the Olympic camp after watching him on Sunday.

Josh Lambo, the third of the U-17 "Generation adidas" players, and Wake Forest's Brian Edwards also are solid netminders -- Lambo, from Wisconsin, could be Fire-bound. Several netminders not in the Combine, including St. John's big Jason Landers, Penn State's Conrad Taylor, SMU's Steve Sandbo and New Mexico's Mike Graczyk, also could hear their names called.

Among several high-profile players missing from the Combine was Notre Dame's Joseph Lapira, the 2006 MAC Hermann Award winner as college soccer's top player. The Louisiana-born striker's mother is Irish, so he qualifies for European Union passport, making it easy to make the move to a European club. Lapira, who has played for Ireland's national team, is mulling over his options, and MLS doesn't look like the best bet.

West Virginia's Andy Wright, among the nation's top college midfielders, was invited to the Combine but instead returned home to England and signed with Scunthorpe United.

There's a huge diversity of opinion on the players available -- what one coach likes another doesn't -- and any mock draft is nothing more than a guess, whether educated or not. Here's our try, for the first five picks:

1. Kansas City: F Patrick Nyarko (Virginia Tech)

2. FC Dallas: M Eric Avila (UC Santa Barbara)

3. Real Salt Lake: D Julius James (Connecticut)

4. Los Angeles: D Andy Iro (UC Santa Barbara)

5. Colorado: D Chance Myers (UCLA)

Kansas City has six picks, four in the first 25, including No. 11. FC Dallas has seven (four in the first 22, including Nos. 2 and 8). Chicago (6 picks, including Nos. 7 and 12) and Los Angeles (7) also will be busy. Toronto FC and Real Salt Lake have two picks in the first round.

Houston doesn't pick until the end of the third round; Chivas USA's only selection opens the fourth round.

Spot Kicks

-- Former U.S. national team stars Jeff Agoos, Preki, Earnie Stewart and Shannon MacMillan head the newcomers on the 2008 National Soccer Hall of Fame ballot. Other first-timers: Mark Chung, Robin Fraser, Brian Kamler, Manny Lagos, Oscar Pareja, Evan Whitfield, Richie Williams and Danielle Fotopoulos.

Preki, Stewart and MacMillan appear the slam-dunk choices, but there are some holdovers who deserve the votes, too. Thomas Dooley and Joy Fawcett absolutely should be elected, and Agoos, Fraser, Marco Etcheverry, Joe-Max Moore, Peter Nowak, Carlos Valderrama and Peter Vermes should receive consideration.

Preki, of course, is Chivas USA's coach (and was MLS's Coach of the Year last season). Agoos was just promoted to sporting director for the New York Red Bulls. Vermes is the Kansas City Wizards' technical director. Nowak is the U.S. under-23 coach. Fraser is an assistant coach with Real Salt Lake. Also on the ballot are Mike Burns, the New England Revolution's director of soccer; John Doyle, general manager of the San Jose Earthquakes; Dominic Kinnear, who has coached the Houston Dynamo to the past two MLS titles; Mike Sorber, a U.S. national team assistant coach; and Richie Williams, who is moving from the bench to the front office with the Red Bulls.

-- Everybody wants to go to Hawaii for the inaugural Pan Pacific Championship, a preseason exhibition (Feb. 20-23) involving the Dynamo, Los Angeles Galaxy, Japan's Gamba Osaka and an Australian side to be determined, but that has as much to do with Hawaii as it does soccer. We're more excited by the fifth Carolina Cup, which will be played March 15-22 at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C. The Charleston Battery, from the United Soccer Leagues, is host, as always, with MLS's Red Bulls, Earthquakes and Toronto FC completing the field.

-- New England's superstar striker Taylor Twellman is angry the Revs and MLS have turned down a $2.5 million offer from Preston North End, which plays in England's second-tier championship. Twellman, who has 101 career goals, began his career with a frustrating two-year stint with Germany's 1860 Munich, and he longs to return to Europe. He signed a four-year deal with MLS a year ago.

The Revs have long made it difficult for their top players to move overseas, and MLS previously turned down offers for Twellman, forward Clint Dempsey and midfielder Shalrie Joseph. Dempsey left New England for Fulham on a $4 million transfer in December 2006.

-- Chivas USA is set to bolster its attacking depth with the acquisition of forward Alecko Eskandarian from Real Salt Lake for allocation money. Finalization of the deal is awaiting Eskandarian, who made $175,000 last year, signing a new contract with the league. Esky also has been offered a deal by Belgium's Standard Liege, but he favors remaining in MLS.

-- Here's something scary. Word is the new Seattle MLS team is going to call itself the Emerald City Greens. In a league that at times has tried to corner all the most horrible nicknames, this one might be the worst. Is there anybody, aside from marketing morons, who doesn't want MLS's 15th club to be called the Seattle Sounders?

-- No surprise from the MAC Hermann Awards, college soccer's version of the Heisman. Connecticut's O'Brian White and Florida State's Mami Yamaguchi won the trophies, which usually end up in the hands of the nation's leading scorers and did so again this time. White is a Canadian, Yamaguchi is from Japan, and both are deserving. Others would have been fine winners, too, including finalists Nyarko and Lauren Cheney, the UCLA forward who's in China this week with the U.S. national women's team.

-- What a finish for InterLiga, the annual tournament that determines two of Mexico's three entrants for Copa Libertadores. Club America won the title, outlasting Cruz Azul on penalties following a 3-3 tie at sold-out Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Atlas, which lost to America, 3-2, in a group-play thriller at HDC, also advanced, and both join Guadalajara in South America's club championship.

-- Omid Namazi, who has quickly built the New Jersey Ironmen into a first-year Major Indoor Soccer League contender, is departing to become an assistant coach with the Red Bulls. Namazi has long been one of indoor soccer's top coaches, and he also guided the WUSA's San Diego Spirit in Year 3 of the women's pro league.