Whitecaps' top SuperDraft pick has `a little bit of everything'
Nigerian-born striker Egbo has heard all about this city from university coach
The Vancouver Whitecaps invested a great deal of scouting currency in preparing for the 2021 MLS SuperDraft.
Nine staff members scoured the NCAA ranks for hidden diamonds. The head scout alone parsed more than 1,000 hours of video in breaking down the top prospects and developing their ranking chart.
University of Akron forward David Egbo didn't need to do much research after being taken ninth overall by the Whitecaps on Thursday. He just asked the guy next to him.
Zips assistant coach Michael Nanchoff knew all about the city and the Major League Soccer club, having played two seasons in Vancouver to start his pro career. Nanchoff, who ironically was taken eighth overall by the Caps in the 2011 SuperDraft, was on hand Thursday to see his player get taken by his old club.
“He's actually here with me,” Egbo said Thursday afternoon from his home.
“He told me it's a great place, that they look out for you, that they're going to take care of me. And, you know, just have fun, enjoy the moment and be ready to work.”
The 22-year-old played three seasons at Akron (2017-19), collecting 21 goals and 13 assists in 35 starts and 56 appearances. He captained the club in his final season, one entry in an encyclopedia of accolades on his Zips bio.
The Nigerian-born striker was one of four picks made by the Caps this year. With their second firstround pick, which came to them from Sporting Kansas City in a trade for Erik Hurtado in 2018, Vancouver drafted right back Javain Brown from the University of South Florida (23rd overall).
Brown, born in Kingston, Jamaica, has played four games for the Reggae Boyz, making his debut against Trinidad and Tobago in 2017. He redshirted his first year in Florida, and played only a single season for the USF Bulls because of the coronavirus pandemic, but the 21-year-old started 17 of the 18 games, scored three goals — all game-winners — and was named to the all-conference and all-rookie team.
“I haven't been to Canada, but I have a lot of friends in Canada and they've wanted me to come to Canada so bad. So getting the opportunity to be at a wonderful club like Vancouver, I can't be more grateful,” said Brown, five foot 11, 160 pounds. “As I always said, this is time to work. You've got an opportunity to … keep that opportunity. You got to grab that with two hands. The real work starts now.”
The Whitecaps also had two second-round picks, taking UCLA midfielder Eric Iloski at 46th overall and Michigan Wolverines defender Joel Harrison — a former member of the Caps academy — at 53rd overall.
SuperDraft players who stick with a club are rare finds, with midfielder Ryan Raposo, taken in 2020, the first player to stick around since Jake Nerwinski in 2017. Before that, Tim Parker cracked the roster as a starter after being taken in 2015.
But with such heavy Canadian content in their roster, and the national team needing all hands on deck for a very busy 2021, Brown and Egbo have better shots at pulling off the feat.
“When you look at the schedule of the international camps and what can happen with Canada … some of the players are not going to be with us and it's important that we're ready,” said coach Marc Dos Santos, who currently has five players away with the Canadian team, while Ali Adnan and Ranko Vesilinovic have also been called up for their countries.
“With COVID and what happened in 2020, it really looks like the schedule could be very condensed with international games. This is also one of the reasons we looked at David Egbo very carefully. Can he be a player that could give us that depth in a moment like that? We're very aware of what's going to happen in the schedule and we're trying to get ready for it.”
Both Egbo and Brown came across as confident and assured, but acknowledge they have parts of their game that need to be improved for them to be successful professionals.
“Personally, I think I'm good at everything,” Egbo said with a smile. “And that's not to sound cocky … because I think my versatility, I can play whatever the position: on the left, centre right and centre mid, I can play back to goal. I don't want to say I'm the perfect striker, but I think I have a little bit of everything, and that's what makes me different from the rest of the strikers.
“I'd like to work on my right foot. It's not where I think it needs to be. Reading space, clearing space for the ball to come to me … there's a lot of things I definitely need to work on. I'm not where I want to be, I'm not where I need to be, I'm not even halfway there. So I'm excited to go work with coach and take his advice.”