North Carolina State University Athletics
Bulgarian Buddies
2/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2005
Raleigh, N.C. - BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH - It was after a game at Clemson, an NC State victory, that Nikolai Peek was waiting to spend a few minutes with his hero. Someone saw the 12-year-old boy wearing a red Wolfpack T-shirt with the name "Evtimov" on it - like every NC State T-shirt he owns - and asked if he is Ilian Evtimov's little brother.
You could see the shine from Nikolai's smile all the way to Bulgaria .
"I kind of went with that, because I would like it if Ilian was my big brother," Nikolai said.
In truth, Nikolai is just a proud Bulgarian. He just didn't know it until he became friends with Evtimov, who quickly helped Nikolai learn a few words of their native language. Before then, Nikolai, who was adopted at the age of 4 by Angie and Brian Peek of Cornelia , Ga. , had little connection to his native land. Evtimov, who has spent every summer he can remember visiting family in Bulgaria , was glad to help.
He was also happy to have his own connection to the land he left at such a young age. Evtimov moved to the United States at the age of 14 to pursue a basketball career, living in New York and Winston-Salem and attending three different high schools. So he befriended the Peeks, giving them tickets to games at Georgia Tech and Clemson for the last couple of years. He's given them an off-season tour of the campus. And he's traded e-mails with Nikolai for more than two years.
But there is something else Nikolai wants to do with Evtimov: experience a home game at the RBC Center, to see an arena awash in red and thumping with cheers about his favorite team.
"I want to go to a game in Raleigh , so I can hear everyone cheering for the Wolfpack," Nikolai told his parents and Ilian on several occasions.
It just happens that Saturday is Nikolai's 12th birthday, and the Wolfpack is playing a rare Saturday home game, this one against Virginia Tech. The Peeks plan to be there, thanks to more tickets from Evtimov.
"I am proud to be able to do this for him," Evtimov said. "I am glad that he can come and glad this can be his birthday present."
Before Nikolai met Evtimov, he had never met another person from Bulgaria , at least not since the Peeks adopted him from the coastal city of Shumen , when Nikolai was 4 years old.
Then one day, while watching an ACC Tournament game - the Peeks were big Wake Forest fans, since that's where Brian got his undergraduate degree in chemistry - Nikolai happened to hear that Evtimov, then a freshman, was from Bulgaria too.
The next season, when the Peeks started watching basketball again, there was a mention of NC State.
"Oh, that's the team that has No. 3 from Bulgaria ," Nikolai said. "I want to meet him."
Nikolai was disappointed that Evtimov was hurt and unable to play that season, but he was undeterred about meeting him. He became persistent, the way only a 9-year-old kid can be. Angie Peek called the school's media relations department, which put her in touch with the basketball office. She got an address, and Nikolai sent a letter to Evtimov and a few pictures. A month later, Nikolai got a letter back, with a promise that he could have some tickets to a Clemson game, if the family was willing to drive the hour and 20 minutes from Cornelia.
After that game, while the rest of the team was doing interviews and taking showers, Evtimov spent 20 minutes getting to know Nikolai, and they formed a bond.
"I thought it was special for him to take the time to write me a letter," Evtimov said. "Obviously, he didn't know anybody who was Bulgarian and he was trying to make a connection and learn a little bit about his origins."
There wasn't much for Nikolai to learn about his native country in his rural Georgia home. There were no other Bulgarians in town. In fact, he was one of only 90 orphans adopted from Bulgaria by American parents in 1997.
"I think there was a time when he didn't like to say he was Bulgarian or that he was adopted," Evtimov said. "But his mom told me that ever since we met, he has been very comfortable with himself and that he tells everybody he is Bulgarian. I feel very happy that I can make him feel better about himself."
In return, Nikolai has turned most of Habersham County , Ga. , into Wolfpack fans. The whole town of Cornelia knows about his relationship with Evtimov. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution did a story about it, and there is a picture of Nikolai with Evtimov in this year's media guide.
Nikolai's parents are North Carolina natives, Brian from Asheville and Jamestown and Angie from Edenton. But since Brian went to Wake Forest for his undergraduate degree and North Carolina for his graduate work, and Angie went to college in Richmond , they had little reason to care about NC State. That's changed because of Evtimov.
Now, Nikolai goes to bed dreaming of NC State wins and hoping that Evtimov has a good game.
The other night, when State beat Maryland , Nikolai couldn't stay up to watch the game. But when Angie Peek went in to check on him, he asked in a half-asleep voice: "Who won."
"The Wolfpack did."
The next morning, Nikolai thought he had only imagined it. He was excited to find out that NC State had indeed beaten the No. 22 Terrapins, and that Evtimov had scored a team-high 17 points.
"I dreamed the Wolfpack won," Nikolai said.
The dream came true. Saturday, so will Nikolai's goal of seeing Evtimov, his Bulgarian buddy, play a game in the RBC Center .
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
