Jerebko projected to be 1st round pick

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Jonny Flynn and his longtime teammate Paul Harris are certain to be picked during the draft on Thursday. But they won't be the only players with a local connection.

Say buon giorno to Italian League basketball player Jonas Jerebko.

The native of Sweden is a 6 foot 9 inch forward who's projected to be a late first round pick in Thursday's National Basketball Association draft.

Four years ago, he had signed on to play for the University at Buffalo.

U.B. Bulls Assistant Coach Jim Kwitchoff said, "He signed with us in the early period in November. In December, he was named to the Swedish National team, which was great news for him. At that point now, his stock was skyrocketing. Jonas got offered a pretty good contract and decided to sign and play pro."

So how does a kid from Sweden originally decide to come play basketball at U.B.?

Well, that's your Buffalo connection. The Jerebko family is from western New York.

Jonas' dad Chris and his uncle Pete were both outstanding local high school basketball players.

Pete Jerebko said, "Jonas and his family have come over quite a bit in the last few years. He's got a chance to play basketball at some boys clubs. People see him and they look at him and they say 'Hey, he's pretty good. What's going on with him?'"

The Jerebko family will be with Jonas at the draft in New York City.

At U.B., they'll be happy for him, but they'll be thinking what if?

Kwitchoff said, "It's easy to say coulda, shoulda, woulda, that kind of thing."