Danny Ferry’s Great Adventure-- It’s Basketball, Italian Style

It’s appropriate to view Danny Ferry as something of a Christopher Columbus in sneakers. He’s off to conquer the “old world,” yes, but at the same time it’s the “new world” of basketball that he no doubt will prove is truly round.

America should feel elated about having him, without portfolio or pretense, as one of its unofficial goodwill ambassadors to Italy.

Ferry stunned the National Basketball Association and the Los Angeles Clippers when, after being the second player chosen in the college draft, he rebuffed offers and headed off on his overseas mission.

The Clippers, reeling from the setback of losing Ferry, the celebrated Duke All-American, have reacted by offering his draft rights to other teams in trade attempts.

The circumstances were different for Ferry. It was almost as if he had climbed out of the cradle and spent his childhood and adolescent years being prepped for the NBA. His father, Bob, came out of St. Louis University with strong credentials and played in the pro league for 10 productive seasons.

Then he graduated to general manager of the Washington Bullets, where he’s one of the game’s foremost front office executives and a man who is funnier, when it comes to repartee, than either Bob Hope or Bones McKinney.

It was naturally assumed that son Danny would follow dear old dad into the NBA, but something happened before he even entered into negotiations with the Clippers or headed for the bank.

The night of the draft, while walking down a New York street, a man came up to Ferry. At first, he might have thought it was a sales approach to buy a hot wristwatch or imported perfume, because such merchandizing ploys take place all the time. But, no, this was a representative of the Messaggero basketball team, one Enzo deChiaro, who wanted to know if Danny-boy might like to dribble off to Italy.

It was a strange way to establish a professional contact, to be sure, but Danny referred him to his father. And the next day, when Ferry got the call from the Italian representative, he informed deChiaro, “We don’t have anything like this in mind.” Then the overseas agent started to explain, and what he had to say and sell was intriguing.

It sounded interesting but not overwhelming, remembering how the Ferry family was so NBA-oriented. Money obviously was no concern because Gruppo Ferruzzi, who owns the team, is one of the world’s wealthiest men. In some ways, he’s a conglomerate unto himself.

Ferruzzi wanted Danny and his parents to come to Italy. They also invited Danny’s college roommate to make the trip.

Before the tour was over, Ferry and company visited Venice, Rome and Monte Carlo. “It must have cost them $70,000 to entertain us,” says Bob Ferry. “We all went over and back on the Concorde and that in itself was around $30,000. But, apart from that, they impressed us in a lot of ways. Suffice to say, if it wasn’t an all-around fantastic deal he wouldn’t be there.”

Bob Ferry and his wife, Rita, describe it as a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” They want the best for their All-American son, who has been such a credit to them academically and athletically and mirrors the fine home environment in which he was raised. “The experience can’t do anything but make him a better person,” says his father.

A government major at Duke, who also took some courses in finance, Danny will continue, between practice sessions in Rome, to study at Henry Cabot Lodge University and has volunteered to work part-time for the U.S. Embassy.

His team plays 15 exhibitions and 30 games in the regular season, which means he’s going to be able to visit the historical treasures of Rome and be introduced to a broadening new culture.

“He has been a boy who has done everything the right way,” said his father. “As a basketball player, I recognized when he was in the seventh grade at St. Mark’s School in Hyattsville, Md., that he had ability, but I didn’t know how much he’d improve. I remember when he was 15 years old, he played in a summer league in downtown Washington. He’d take the subway on his own and, since he was the only white kid on the team, his coach and the friends he was playing with would meet him at the station to make sure nothing happened to him.”

It has been reliably reported that Danny has a contract paying close to $2 million a year, a rent-free villa in the country (he opted instead for an apartment in Rome) and a secretary to handle correspondence and appointments. All this at 22 for playing a game in short pants.

His father can only contrast how it was for him as an NBA rookie in 1959, when he was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks. He got a salary of $10,000, with the stipulation he could be released at any time. Meal money was $8 a day. He was expected to buy his playing shoes and, like the rest of the players, carried his own uniform on road trips.

Now, 30 years removed, Danny is making an astronomical sum and being hailed as an international celebrity.

Bob Ferry and wife, Rita, have given much to basketball. It hasn’t been an easy road. They deserve to revel in the success and the mighty fortune that has come to their son. It’s almost as if some Great Coach, an almighty power, wanted it to happen this way.