Petrovic: `An Incredible Loss'

Drazen Petrovic, 28-year-old New Jersey Net star, dies and two women are seriously injured when their car collides head-on with a trailer truck on a rain-slick German highway.

FRANKFURT, Germany - Drazen Petrovic, a raw European talent who developed into one of the NBA's finest shooting guards in two-plus seasons with the New Jersey Nets, died in an automobile accident.

Petrovic, 28, was killed yesterday in the accident that occurred about 15 miles north of Ingolstadt, on the highway to Munich, police said. He was traveling in the passenger seat of a Volkswagen Golf with two women.

In heavy rain, the Golf slammed head-on into a trailer truck that had skidded on the slippery road. The 23-year-old driver of the Golf apparently braked suddenly and lost control of the car, which hit the rail separating lanes headed in the opposite direction and then hit the truck.

The driver and 23-year-old passenger who were traveling with the Croatian basketball star suffered serious injuries.

"I'm devastated," New Jersey Net Coach Chuck Daly said. "Something like this puts a focus on how precious life is."

Petrovic's attorney Nicholas Goyak, contacted at his home in McMinnville, Ore., also was saddened.

"Drazen lived basketball. He never took a day off. He was so young, he was in the prime of his life. He just had the best year of his career," said Goyak, speaking in a telephone interview on KATU in Portland, Ore.

In downtown Zagreb in Petrovic's native Croatia, friends met in his coffee bar, Amadeus, this morning after learning of his death.

"We all lost today. This is an incredible loss," said Stojko Vrankovic, a former member of the Boston Celtics who plays in Greece.

"This is the worst shock in my life," said Neven Spahija, one of Petrovic's former coaches. "We are all here now, watching each other, not believing, weeping."

Petrovic, a 6-foot-5 guard who played on his country's silver-medal team in the Barcelona Olympics, had just finished playing for Croatia in a qualifying tournament.

Petrovic is the fifth prominent athlete in American sports to die in accidents this year. Tim Crews and Steve Olin of the Cleveland Indians were killed in a boating accident in March. Race-car driver Alan Kulwicki died in a plane crash in April, and Iowa basketball star Chris Street was killed in a car accident in January.

Petrovic, selected to the all-NBA third team, averaged 22.3 points on 52 percent shooting and was one of the league's top three-point shooters.

However, his contract with the Nets had expired, and Petrovic was upset the club did not offer him a new contract until March. Petrovic said he probably would play in Europe next season, despite the Nets' reported offer of $15 million for five years.

Petrovic was acquired by the Nets in 1991 from the Portland for a first-round pick in 1992.

Petrovic, who once scored 112 points in a Croatian League game, led the Nets in scoring and minutes played last season.

Compiled from Associated Press, Reuters, USA Today and New York Daily News.

----------------------------------------------. Petrovic's career at a glance. . YEAR TEAM G FG% AST. PTS. . 89-90 Portland 77 .485 1.4 7.6. . 90-91 Port.-N.J. 61 .493 1.8 10.2. . 91-92 New Jersey 82 .508 3.1 20.6. . 92-93 New Jersey 70 .518 3.5 22.3. . Totals 290 .506 2.4 15.4.

Note: Drafted by Portland in third round (60th overall) of 1986 draft.