One of the strongest recruiting pitches made by Utah men's basketball coach Jim Boylen in July had nothing to do with convincing a 17-year-old that Utah was the place for him.

Instead, his pitch was to a veteran Ute whom he traveled thousands of miles to convince to return to the team.

When he heard Luka Drca was thinking of remaining in Serbia rather than returning for his senior year, Boylen decided he had to make a sales pitch to the senior guard in person.

"Young guys get confused and I couldn't see him throw his degree away," Boylen said. "I had to give it a shot. I talked to my AD and said it was important, I had to give it a shot. It wasn't about basketball, but about him throwing his life away."

His trip was far from glamorous. On July 31, Boylen left Chicago after a two-week recruiting trip, flew to Paris, and connected to a flight to Belgrade.

"I was beat to a pulp after recruiting for a month," Boylen said. "When I got to Paris, I sat there for four hours, ate a Snickers bar, caught a flight to Serbia, Drca picked me up, and he and his parents had dinner. They cried, he cried, I cried. I told him I was pissed off he was throwing his life away."

"I went back to the hotel, fell asleep with all my clothes on, woke up at 1 a.m., tried to get something to eat and everything was closed," Boylen said. "I ate everything in the honor bar. Some idiot had taken the Pringles and eaten them then sealed it back, I was so angry. I was up all night. The next morning he took me to the airport and I flew home."

The trip cost the university $4,509.39, including the $3,299.86 airfare. It also cost Boylen some severe jetlag and some heartache. Drca thanked him for coming, then told Boylen he only would think about coming back. Two days later, Drca texted Boylen and said he'd return.

"He made a difference," Drca said. "I had to go over it again and again and again and thought about my future. The best was to come back and get my degree."

Drca said he considered leaving because he was tired of classes.

"I love this place, I got used to it, I love coach Boylen's system and everything around here," he said. "I think probably I just got tired of school. At the same time, I couldn't focus on one thing and it was just hard."

Tugging at Drca to stay was the possibility of playing professionally. He knew that meant he'd have to delay his pursuit of a chemistry degree and his goal of working for a pharmacy company.

"I thought I would try to play professionally as long as I can and maybe come back for grad school, find a job at home or somewhere in Europe," he said.

Ultimately, Boylen's visit and pressure from his parents convinced him to return.

It would be a great story if Drca had returned and was lighting up the conference enough to be an MVP candidate. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened.

Drca is averaging 10.1 points, 3.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds and shooting 40.6 percent. However, he also is averaging 2.5 turnovers and shooting just 29 percent from three-point distance, his lowest percentage since he shot 28.6 percent as a freshman. Drca knows he is struggling.

"It's hard after the success we had last year," he said. "It's hard to be up and down, especially [in] my senior year, I expect a lot from myself. We've had good wins and bad losses and it all comes together. But it's not over, it's all here and we can still make our run."

Boylen understands why the initial reaction to his European trip would be skepticism from fans, particularly since Drca isn't playing well.

However, he insists his motivation wasn't exclusive to Drca's basketball skills.

"I have a responsibility to them as young men," he said. "Yes, I want to hang banners and win games too, but the biggest problem I have is when they don't listen and understand this is a finite amount of time, and if you don't set yourself up for the future, what are you going to do?"

Drca is on track to graduate in May. By contrast, the Utes' season is off track. The situation frustrates Boylen, but it would frustrate Boylen even more if Drca weren't a part of it.

"Is he having a frustrating year? Yes," Boylen said. "But there is more to life than basketball. I still say it was worth it. The worthiness is yet to come. His mom is coming for his graduation. That will be enough."

lwodraska@sltrib.com