At the MLS Draft, United Will Have Slim Pickings

D.C.'s First Selection Is No. 7 in the Second Round

D.C. United has grown accustomed to playing a central role in the annual MLS draft, holding the first overall pick the previous two years and cashing in four of the top 15 selections in both 2001 and 2003.

When the 2005 draft commences at noon today in Baltimore, however, United will sit on the periphery as the other 11 teams scramble for most of the fresh talent. Barring any last-minute trades, MLS's defending champion will grab someone with the seventh pick in the second round (19th overall) and then wait until the very end to make the final selection in the four-round draft.

"We think we're going to get a good player," United technical director Dave Kasper said upon returning from the scouting combine in Southern California this week. "The talent is okay, on par with the last couple years. We have a couple players in mind."

United will have to wait a little while to get one. The team was obligated to send its first-round pick (12th overall) to the New York/New Jersey MetroStars as part of last year's trade that brought forward Jaime Moreno back to Washington. The remainder of its natural selections were lost in previous deals, but United does have Colorado's second-rounder, acquired last year as part of a minor trade.

D.C. is also expected to finalize the re-acquisition of its fourth-round pick from San Jose in exchange for the rights to Salvadoran forward Ronald Cerritos, whom United had waived last summer. (In MLS, teams are able to keep the rights to some players even after they release them.)

Making late picks are not necessarily a waste of time. Last year United acquired midfielder Josh Gros, who became one of the league's top rookies, in the fourth round of a six-round draft, and the MetroStars selected defender Jeff Parke, who quickly became a starter, with the last overall pick.

United's most glaring need is a central defender following the departure of all-star Ryan Nelsen to Blackburn in the English Premier League. However, the club is hoping to sign a veteran from South America or Europe to fill that critical starting role and use the draft to possibly acquire some defensive depth.

D.C. could also use help on the flanks after veteran midfielder Earnie Stewart decided to return to Europe to finish his long career.

This year's draft doesn't have a marquee player pre-ordained as the first overall pick, like teenage star Freddy Adu last year or forward Alecko Eskandarian, the MVP of last season's MLS Cup, in 2003.

The top pick this year, held by expansion Salt Lake City, might be 16-year-old midfielder Nikolas Besagno, from Maple Valley, Wash., who played for Salt Lake Coach John Ellinger on the U.S. under-17 national team. The MVP of the scouting combine was little-known midfielder Luke Kreamalmayer from Bradley University, who likely will be taken in the first round. Indiana midfielder Danny O'Rourke, who won the Hermann Trophy as the top player in the country this past season, is also expected to go high.

None of the four Maryland players at the combine made major impressions, according to observers at the event in Carson, Calif., but all could end up being picked in the last three rounds. Virginia midfielder-defender Hunter Freeman, a member of the U.S. under-20 national team and the NCAA assists leader who left school a year early, might go in the top 15.

United Notes: Veteran midfielder Dema Kovalenko underwent surgery on his left foot and will be sidelined two to three months. He suffered the injury while visiting his native Ukraine.