Two Hoyas Head to Europe, Working Hard on Their Shot

"As much as you try and help them in terms of getting some kind of job over there, I've tried to tell them that at some point -- and I don't mean this in a bad sense -- you have to grow up and get a job and start a career," Esherick said. "The great thing about this transition is you can have fun playing basketball. This is the time to try and do it."

Esherick, who now works for CSTV, understands the pull. He averaged 3.8 points over four years as a 6-3 guard for the Hoyas, and wanted to continue playing basketball after he graduated from Georgetown in 1978. He even deferred his acceptance to law school for a year, because he was hoping -- expecting -- to receive an offer to play in Europe.

"But no one wanted me," said Esherick, who wound up working for a finance company for that year. "I wasn't marketable."

That is the challenge facing Izzo and Dizdarevic. They have no videotape and no stats that they can send to teams. What they can sell is the idea of potential: Both players are tall, they spent the past three years battling two future NBA lottery picks every day in practice, and if they had gone to a smaller school they might have put up impressive statistics. The Georgetown name carries considerable weight, but it is an uphill battle.

"If you're a coach or GM in Europe, would you rather have a guy who played at a mid-major school somewhere, was an all-conference player and has experience, the whole nine? Or would you rather take on a player who has potential, but no video to show?" said agent Justin Haynes, who represents former Georgetown guard Ashanti Cook and 32 other players. "In my experience, the easier person to represent is person A -- the one with awards and achievements in a smaller program."

Ross knows how difficult the process can be. He was a star at Lake Braddock High, but injuries derailed his Georgetown career and he played in just 47 games. His career highlight was a nine-point performance in 24 minutes against top-ranked Illinois in December 2004, but that wasn't enough to garner serious interest from potential agents or teams.

So Ross had to do the work himself. He searched for playing opportunities on the Internet, typing "pro team New Zealand" and "pro team Fiji" -- "Basically any random country I could think of," he said -- into search engines, and then he e-mailed representatives from the teams that popped up. He emphasized two things: First, he is 6-6 and can play point guard, and second, he played for Georgetown.

Ross said he got a couple of replies, including one from a team in Iceland that offered him a preliminary six-month contract. But he ultimately decided to go to Northern Ireland, taking a job in Belfast -- which he knew was home to a professional team -- with Peace Players International.

That professional team, Star of the Seas, cut one of its American players last November, and signed Ross, who had been practicing with them, to fill the spot. He wound up averaging 29.6 points, the third-highest scoring average in the SuperLeague. In 16 games, Ross attempted 386 field goals -- nearly five times as many as he took in his entire Georgetown career.

It wasn't a glamorous life. Ross made less than $1,000 a month (his job with Peace Players helped cover his living expenses), and when the team traveled to away games, the players often would pile into five cars and caravan together. If they traveled by bus, the coach would drive it. But it was professional basketball, and it gave Ross a chance to play.

"Now that I have stats and scored a lot of points, I'm a lot more credible," said Ross, who is exploring his options for next season. "Also, Georgetown did so great this year. Anytime your team does well, that helps."

For the past 2 1/2 weeks, Dizdarevic has been in Washington, working out under former Hoya John Duren. He spends a couple of hours every day at Yates Field House, lifting weights, running with Duren and playing with former Georgetown standouts Mike Sweetney and Kevin Braswell; he has dropped 15 pounds since the end of the season. The goal of the training is to get Dizdarevic accustomed to playing again and to build his confidence.

"He sat for four years, and that's a long time. He's got to get refocused and retrain his mind," Duren said of Dizdarevic, who was a scorer in high school (22 points per game). "He was more like a cheerleader for Roy and Jeff. He was support staff, and it takes a certain kind of leadership to do that. But now he needs to focus on himself and be selfish."

Dizdarevic has been working with David Bauman of Fame, a well-connected agent who has a partner based in Europe. All he wants is a chance.

"Hopefully, it will go my way," Dizdarevic said. "I'm not going to lie -- I'm really excited about this. I'm looking forward to this challenge. I've been working my behind off. This is what I was hoping for and pulling for. I'm going to go over there and do the best I can, and see what can happen."