Defender Dean is Caps’ top pick
Talented centre back from California selected third overall in SuperDraft
The large amount of ink on Christian Dean’s left arm is meant to remind him of the importance of family.
There are a couple of tattoos of his mom, one for a friend and a large lighthouse meant to signify the “guiding light” role his grandmother, who died a few months ago, played in his young life.
But the family story of the Vancouver Whitecaps draft pick — the 6- foot- 3 junior centre back out of the University of California was selected third overall in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft on Thursday — is far more convoluted, and emotionally uplifting, than can be conveyed by artwork.
We’ll get to that in a minute. But first, the nuts and bolts of the Caps’ draft day in Philadelphia.
In the 20- year- old Dean, selected with a pick acquired from Toronto in 2012, and 19- year- old Jamaican midfielder Andre Lewis, whom the Caps selected seventh overall and who grew up near Caps’ striker Darren Mattocks, Vancouver once again opted to choose players with substantial upside rather than graduated college players who might be considered more MLS ready.
Dean, whose “skill and athletic ability are very rare,” according to his college coach, Kevin Grimes, is a Generation adidas signing, meaning his salary won’t count against the salary budget.
“It’s a dream come true, especially a team on the West Coast,” he said of being drafted by the Caps.
With youngsters Carlyle Mitchell and Honduran international Johnny Leverón already in place and veterans Andy O’Brien and the soon- to-be-signed Jay DeMerit to learn from, the naturally left- footed Dean won’t need to be rushed. But that doesn’t mean he won’t be trying to win a spot right away.
“I think I’m ready to come in and play ... at left back or centre back, wherever they decide to try me out,” he said while conceding that his biggest challenge will be adapting to the more physical pro game.
“I’ll have to make a little mental jump to achieve that, just be willing to go into anything.”
New Vancouver head coach Carl Robinson calls Dean a “fantastic athlete.
“I saw that at ( last weekend’s) combine and I was delighted that he fell to three. I didn’t think he would and I wasn’t going to turn that opportunity down. He’s got a lot to learn, but he’s got a good head on his shoulders.”
Lewis, just 5- foot- 8 and 145 pounds, is considered the best teenage prospect in Jamaica. The creative midfielder, who earned his first senior national team call- up in 2012, said he’s been a fan of the Caps because of Mattocks, who is about to begin his third season in Vancouver.
Lewis describes himself as a “pretty cool” guy who loves to laugh and to rally teammates.
“He reminds me a lot of Kekuta Manneh,” Robinson said, referencing the 18- yearold phenom the Caps selected fourth overall in 2013. “He had something special. He’s got a fantastic understanding of the game for someone so young.”
With their second- round pick, 30th overall, the Caps selected Senegal native Mamadou Diouf, a University of Connecticut senior, who slipped to just two goals in 2013 after tallying 28 times over the previous two years.
“It’s a lot of fire, a lot of motivation,” said Diouf, who some mock drafts had going in the first round. “I have a lot to prove.”
Now, about Dean and his extended family.
He was born in Alvin, Texas, to a single mom, Sutton Lindsey, who immediately put him up for adoption, as she had done 15 months earlier with another boy by a different father. In both cases, it was an open process in which Lindsey would remain a part of their life.
Dean, whose adoptive parents Elizabeth and Bill Dean are social workers, grew up in East Palo Alto, Calif., while his halfbrother, Josh Huestis, grew up in Great Falls, Mont.
Lindsey, who also had an older son living with her, said she simply couldn’t afford to keep all three, telling the San Jose Mercury News last fall that “I couldn’t give all three of them what they deserved. But I could still love them just as much.”
Both boys have visited regularly with Lindsey.
Before his junior year in high school, Dean, who had played soccer and basketball growing up, went to visit Josh and his adoptive family and wound up staying six months.
“He was doing a lot of soulsearching and introspection,” said Huestis, now a starter on the University of Stanford basketball team. “We talked a lot and then he realized soccer was his love and a big part of his future.”
Dean returned to the Bay Area for his final year of high school and earned a scholarship to Cal, where he shifted to centre back from left back for his junior season and earned All- Pac- 12 honours.
Dean, who calls Huestis his best friend, said his grandmother also played a huge role in his life.
“She pretty much put me through high school and college,” he said on a conference call Thursday. “I wouldn’t have had this opportunity without her.”
As Grimes, his college coach, told the San Jose Mercury News: “In his growth as a person, he has been cared for very well by a number of people.”
BLAKE NO. 1: Andre Blake, a Jamaican who left Connecticut after his junior season, became the first goalkeeper ever to go first overall when he was selected by the Philadelphia Union, which had swapped places with D. C. United to get the player most scouts felt was the best prospect in the draft ... D. C. United then selected Steve Birnbaum, a Cal senior who teamed with Dean in the centre of the Bears’ defence, No. 2 ... Montreal traded up to No. 5 to take Creighton fullback Eric Miller, a player the Caps were eyeing. With the sixth pick, FC Dallas selected Calgary- born Tesho Akindele, the leading goal scorer at NCAA Division II Colorado School of Mines. FC Toronto selected defender Nick Hagglund out of Xavier with the 10th pick of the first round ... the Caps begin preseason training in Vancouver at the end of next week.