DERKS RETURNS FOR DUTCH TREAT; FORMER INDIAN BRINGS OWN DUTCH ALL-STARS TO CAPE GIRARDEAU

It's been over four years since he last competed on the Show Me Center basketball court, but former Southeast starter Eelco Derks is back and looking for a game.

In fact, Derks brought his own team of Dutch high school all-stars to compete against some local teams during the Southeast Basketball camp this Thursday and Friday.

Derks, entering his fifth season of professional basketball in the Netherlands, will be making his second trip back to Cape since graduating from Southeast in 1993. Derks, and his team of five players ranging from 15- to 18-years-old, have been staying in the Southeast dorms since their arrival Monday night.

"The kids have been really excited about this," said Derks of the team's visit to Southeast. "They've never been on an American university campus before. Some of them have really enjoyed being here and are maybe thinking about attending school here."

Cape Girardeau is the third stop on the six city tour Derks has scheduled for his team before returning to Holland later in the month. The tour started in Chicago and will end in Orlando, Fla.

Derks' connections in the community made Cape a natural selection for the tour.

"I wanted to give the kids a good feel of what it's like to be a college player," said Derks. "I have all the connections here so I can show them the campus, they stay in the dorms and they get a good feel of what college life in the United States is about."

Of course, one of Derks' main "connections" at Southeast, former basketball coach Ron Shumate, is longer at the school.

"I've seen a lot of changes since I was here last," Derks said. "Coach Shumate was going to help me out, but that didn't really work out the way I planned."

Derks' group of all-stars were formed from a team he coaches in Europe. Expenses and other factors limited the group to just five of the original 11 players.

"I chose the kids that really wanted to go and who have been bugging me about this for I don't know how long," Derks joked. "These were the best guys, not just basketball-wise, but also because of their maturity and character."

So far, Derks' young team has fared well in the States. Before coming to Cape the team played pick-up games on the streets and play grounds of Chicago and in St. Louis. They beat St. Charles West. Derks believes he has some collegiate talent on his team.

"I'm not going to say how far they could go, but they are good players," Derks said. "You have so many levels in college, I'm sure some of them could play at some level."

Derks, a 6-foot-7 power forward, should know a little about talent because he's carved out a solid professional career in Europe after playing four years at Southeast. Coming off his best season, Derks recently signed a new three-year contract with a different team in the Netherlands.

The last four years, Derks played for the Dutch National team, which two years ago won the national championship. He's averaged about 13 points and nine rebounds a game in his career, but admitted basketball isn't nearly as big in Europe as it is the U.S.

"It's becoming bigger in Europe with the (Olympic) Dream Team effect and Michael Jordan rubbing off on everybody," Derks said. "But there is no Show Me Center in Holland.

"The sport has a lot of potential. The (basketball) organizations just need to build better facilities to host bigger crowds."

Derks compares the professional basketball crowds where he plays to that of a high school game. Despite the smaller crowds, Derks said he's able to make a living playing basketball.

"I get by," said Derks. "This season I'll be combining my basketball career with a career in sports management helping to promote basketball in Europe."

With all of his success in Europe, Derks still looks back at his four years at Southeast as the highlight of his basketball career. In Derks' senior season in 1992-93, he led the team in rebounding and averaged 7.3 points a game. That season marked the last winning season for Southeast basketball when the Indians went 16-11

"It was a big fairy tale for me actually, coming from a little country where basketball wasn't very popular and coming over here and playing in front of 5,000-6,000 people every game," Derks said. "I had up-and-downs in those four years, but overall I was very pleased."

Derks and his team will leave for Memphis Saturday, but he's looking forward to possibly coming back to Cape with another group of all-stars in the future.

"I'm not sure if this will be an annual thing right now," said Derks of his first-year project. "But if people are interested -- and the way things are going now -- I don't see why I wouldn't do it again."