Classic goes on without Dickau

When the fourth annual Spokane All-Americans Charity Classic basketball game tips off Thursday at the McCarthey Athletic Center, Dan Dickau will be somewhere in Italy but Spokane will be on his mind.

Dickau, the former Gonzaga point guard who has been a central figure in the charity game since its inception, signed with the Italian pro team Avellino last month.

He flew Sunday from Portland to Milan and was scheduled to meet with his new team somewhere in northern Italy for the latter part of training camp.

“When we moved the game back (from August) to September, we didn’t envision this being a possibility,” Dickau said by telephone during a layover in Chicago. “As summer progressed and European options started heating up it looked more and more like something I might want to do.

“I was hoping to hang around long enough to be part of the charity game. I know everything will still go off as planned and it should be a great event. I’m two weeks late already; most of the (Avellino) guys got in Aug. 16.

“After I fly into Milan I go directly to camp – I’m not quite sure where – and we have a preseason game two days later.”

The Charity Classic will go off as planned, despite the absence of several regular participants, at 7 p.m. Thursday. It will be preceded by the Northern Quest Casino Celebrity Poker Tournament, which includes pro poker players Erick Lindgren and Gavin Smith, at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Dickau joins a growing trend of NBA players heading overseas. That list includes Charity Classic regular Jannero Pargo, older brother of GU’s Jeremy Pargo, who will play in Russia.

Former Bulldog Adam Morrison will also be absent as he has obligations with the Charlotte Bobcats.

Dickau signed a two-year deal with Avellino, but he can return to the NBA after one season without penalty. His salary is comparable to the $770,000 he made with the Los Angeles Clippers last season. Avellino pays for Dickau’s housing and car, an unspecified number of trips for family/friends and a portion of the Dickau’s taxes.

“It just so happened the European offers were becoming stronger and stronger and it was getting slow on the NBA front,” Dickau said. “My wife was very skeptical of it. We have a five-week old (Emma) so that’s a leap of faith on my wife’s part. It’s going to be a great experience, not only basketball wise, but family wise to experience a different culture.”

Dickau visited with a number of ex-Bulldogs who have played professionally in Europe.

“(Zach) Gourde, (Richard) Fox, Richie (Frahm) and Matt (Santangelo),” Dickau said. “I talked to Matt a lot – he played in Italy for a couple of years – and I spoke to one of the players on the Avellino team. The more I talked to people, I got the sense now is the time to try it.

“My game suits the European game probably even better than the NBA. There’s less isolation and demand for athleticism to control the game. It’s a style of basketball that is very team oriented and places an emphasis on skills like shooting and passing.”

Dickau believes more NBA players will make the move overseas in the future.

“Guys in my position that have been in the league for a number of years and have good value to a team with our skill set and how we represent and go about being a pro. … there’s kind of becoming a max-out player and a league-minimum player for rookies and second-year guys and an occasional mid-level experienced player,” he said. “It’s really becoming a weird situation. For the 8th-to-11th guys on the team, if you get a good offer overseas you really have to consider it.”

Even without Dickau and Morrison, the charity game should have no shortage of former Zags. Santangelo, Frahm, David Pendergraft and Erroll Knight are among those tentatively scheduled to play.

“There’s a small group of us that say we’re not going to play, but they said they won’t give us the gear unless we do,” Santangelo joked. “Especially with Dan not being here, we’d like to get as many (former Zags) that are around to come back and play.”

The lineup of NBA players is hard to pinpoint, but ex-Eastern Washington standout Rodney Stuckey has been invited, along with Brian Scalabrine of the NBA champion Boston Celtics. Organizers had hoped to involve former Bulldog Ronny Turiaf, but he has commitments with the French national team, Dickau said.