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Former Loyola Marymount Player Has Become a Real Globetrotter : Basketball: Mike Yoest has traveled the world chasing his dream of playing in the NBA.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

For three years, Mike Yoest has lived the vagabond life of a professional basketball player, bouncing from Sweden to Portugal to San Jose, but he still hasn’t found the way to the NBA.

So the former Loyola Marymount standout is giving it one more try, playing in the Summer Pro League at Loyola Marymount and hoping for an invitation to an NBA camp or a team overseas.

Yoest’s way is being clouded somewhat by the internecine subtleties of getting playing time in the summer league, where rosters change daily and can double overnight. But he said he has few regrets and wouldn’t trade his basketball experiences for a more routine profession.

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The 6-foot-7 power forward didn’t appear to have much hope of a pro career when he graduated from Loyola in 1988, but he has done well, putting his scoring skills to good use in Europe, getting an invitation to the Sacramento Kings’ summer camp last year and spending a season in the Continental Basketball Assn.

“My experiences have been great,” he said. “I’ve had a chance to see the world and travel while I’m young and improve my game. I wouldn’t trade it.”

His father, Dave, who remains an avid Loyola booster, agreed.

“As long as he enjoys it and has the opportunity, he might as well go for it. God knows, sooner or later you’ve got to sit down and do hard work, and that’s no fun.”

However, Yoest said this is probably the last go-around before he settles down.

“I’ve been paying my dues going on my fourth year--it’s not a lifelong goal,” he said. “My whole life doesn’t center on making (the NBA). I don’t want to be one of those guys 35 (years old) and chasing a dream and not having a career. I can accept what happens and get on with my life.”

Yoest, who wasn’t recruited heavily during his senior season at Crespi High in Encino, blossomed into a standout at Loyola. He helped the Lions leap from perennial loser to a high-scoring Top 20 powerhouse under coach Paul Westhead.

Yoest, who was known for all-out hustle and more than his share of floor burns, began to get a feel for Westhead’s offense at the end of his sophomore season. The Lions earned a berth to the National Invitation Tournament and Yoest scored 25 points in Loyola’s last tournament game.

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As a junior, Yoest started quickly and was among the nation’s scoring leaders in December. But his scoring average dipped to 19.3 and the Lions finished a disappointing 12-16--Westhead’s only losing record at the school.

Transfers Hank Gathers, Bo Kimble and Corey Gaines joined the team for the 1987-88 season and Yoest was selected as a co-captain. Loyola became the nation’s top-scoring team, with Yoest averaging 17.6 points and 7.8 rebounds. The Lions scored 110.3 points per game, won a school-record 28 games and won an opening-round NCAA regional game. Yoest’s last-second three-point basket at St. Mary’s averted an upset and helped Loyola finish 14-0 in West Coast Conference play.

The attention Loyola received helped Yoest get a job in Sweden, where he had a good season but didn’t care for the cold winter. The next year he played in Portugal, where he was a scoring star. His opposition included former Loyola teammate Forrest McKenzie and the two had a storied shootout one night, with each scoring more than 40 points.

Last summer Yoest was invited to the Kings’ mini-camp, although he discovered he was little more than practice fodder.

“It was tough--they had a lot of guys with guaranteed contracts and I was more or less a body,” he said. “But it was an experience and I got to play more than I would’ve (in the summer league).”

Yoest ended up signing with San Jose of the CBA, which had a stormy season that saw two coaching changes. The team has moved to Bakersfield for the coming season. Along the way Yoest went from starter to bench warmer to late-season star.

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“He had his ups and downs, but he learned from it,” his father said. “I guess it was kind of like life.”

While the CBA offers an unglamorous life, it gave Yoest what he sought: the feeling he could play with NBA-level talent.

“The CBA was a good experience,” he said. “I learned a lot as a player. It’s the second-best league in the world. The only drawback is the lack of money.

“At San Jose we went through three coaches and about 45 different players. I was the only player who made it through the whole year. I started at first, I didn’t play in the middle and then the last 10 games I had two triple-doubles, a couple games over 30 points. I proved I could play at that level. I proved it to myself. Now I’m trying to prove that here, to other people.”

For the established players and draftees with contracts, the summer league is a place to refine skills and stay in shape. For free agents, the league is serious business: Yoest and several other players pay a $300 entry fee. Those players from out of town must pay travel expenses to L.A. and cover their housing costs.

“People who don’t live here put a lot on the line to deal with it,” Yoest said. “There’s no guarantee on minutes. It’s a business.”

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Yoest was averaging 17 minutes and 6.3 points before Wednesday’s game, when the team added several NBA players. An irritated Yoest played about six scoreless minutes.

Summer league director Larry Creger said he would try to get Yoest and other free agents more playing time.

“I just have to try and endure,” Yoest said. “This league is definitely a mental challenge. It gets you ready for life, all the political things that go on.”

Even if Yoest shines this summer, Creger said he is a longshot to make an NBA team’s roster.

“It’s about a 40-60 shot against,” Creger said. “It’s a close call. Mike has ability and plays hard. He’s a good guy who works hard--he deserves anything he gets.

“It’d be a great story for us and him if he makes it, wouldn’t it?”

Yoest said all he wants is the chance to show what he can do in the summer league, then he’ll see what comes along. “I hope to either get invited to a (NBA) camp or get invited to a good job overseas. I’m not closing any doors.”

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