The best Hoosier athlete you've never heard of

DaMarcus Beasley has excelled in soccer leagues all over the world and is on the verge of joining some exclusive World Cup company this summer.

Yet, when he returns to visit his hometown of Fort Wayne — or anywhere in the Hoosier State — he's scarcely noticed.

"Indiana is still a basketball state," the longtime member of the U.S. national team said. "About the only people that recognize me are my friends from high school, and I get that. I get more recognized in Miami (where I live)."

He isn't as recognizable as Larry Bird or Oscar Robertson, a couple of Hoosier hoops legends. But when it comes to accomplishments on an international scale, he takes a backseat to no one from Indiana.

Beasley earned his first cap with the U.S. National team in 2001 and has played in 113 games, fifth-most all time. He rejoined the team earlier this year at a new position (left back) following a one-year absence, played to positive reviews and appears to have a good chance to make his fourth World Cup next summer in Brazil.

Kasey Keller and Claudio Reyna are the only U.S. players who have appeared in four World Cups. Landon Donovan also has a chance to join that select group.

"I knew this guy was going to adapt very well back there," said Bobby Poursanidis, who coached Beasley while he was growing up in Fort Wayne and remains close to him, of the position switch. "He just needed some action, needed to face these fantastic, athletic players, these tricky wingers that were going to come at him and (he'd) learn how to adapt.

"That's what I love about this kid. Anywhere this kid has gone, he's adapted."

Beasley is now 31, so he's hardly a kid anymore. He's a grizzled vet, now playing professionally for Puebla in Mexico's Primera Division after stints in the United States, Netherlands, England and Scotland.

The days of being disappointed if he didn't score are long gone. Playing in the back, his success is now measured by making sure the players he defends stay off the scoresheet. It was a change in mindset that Beasley admits wasn't easy at first.

"It was a little bit of an adjustment," he said. "All my life, I had played forward and midfield. But if the coach has confidence in you, you have to play it to the best of your abilities."

Beasley and his older brother Jamar — who also plays professional soccer — inherited some good athletic bloodlines, though not in their choosen sport. Their father, Henry, played football and basketball at Savannah (Ga.) State. The elder Beasley worked as a truck driver and met his future wife and the boys' mother on a trip to Fort Wayne.

DaMarcus played his share of basketball, including one year at Fort Wayne South High School. But from the age of 10, soccer was his favorite — even though Major League Soccer had not yet formed. Unlike today, televised matches from overseas were rarely available. Beasley and his brother watched tapes on the family VCR of Pele and Diego Maradonna, and then headed to the pitch to try to emulate them.

"I always had a ball on my feet," Beasley said.

Poursanidis said that it originally looked like Jamar was going to be the better player because he was so much bigger than his younger brother. (Today, both are listed at 5-8, 145 pounds.)

"(DaMarcus) was a scrawny, wiry-looking kid that had a great work ethic," Poursanidis said. "He just wouldn't stop. He would beat one guy and then another."

Added Beasley: "When I was in high school, my coach my sophomore year noticed I kept missing basketball practice because of soccer and told me I had to make a choice. It was a no-brainer. I was going to play soccer."

Part of the reason that Beasley is overlooked in a listing of the state's greatest athletes is the sport he chose, which continues to grow in Indiana but has yet to get the same attention from casual fans and the media as basketball, football and even baseball.

Another is that he hasn't played competitively in the state since he was 15. He left South after his sophomore year to enroll in the U.S. Soccer Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla., where he finished high school. He played for U.S. teams in the U-17 and U-20 Worlds Cups, but he bypassed college and signed with Major League Soccer as a 16-year-old, eventually being allocated to the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Yet, those accomplishments were barely reported on in Indiana, especially outside of Fort Wayne.

"It was a tough sell," Poursanidis said. "He was home sick when he went to Bradenton. But I told him, 'If you want to accomplish your goals, you have to sacrifice things along the way. If it means sacrificing going out with your friends, or going to prom with your friends, you do it. You look at it down the road, you'll be glad you did.' "

Beasley said Poursanidis was proven correct.

"The experience has been great," he said. "I wouldn't change anything."

It looked like Beasley's time with the national team was winding down entering this year. He had not played for it since 2011 and a series of injuries had slowed him. After playing in Europe for several years, he moved to Mexico — where the Primera Division is respected, but not considered on the same level as the top leagues in Europe.

But U.S. national coach Jurgen Klinsmann had other ideas.

"You get so many different opinions about players, and so many people we spoke to were positive about DaMarcus that it confirmed that we should take a look," he said.

Klinsmann termed Beasley's play since his return as "amazing."

"DaMarcus has just a tremendous willingness to get his job done for the team in whatever role he is given," he said. "He is very adaptable and handles different challenges with ease. No matter where he goes in the world, he makes it work."

Beasley was part of the team as it qualified for another World Cup, but that doesn't guarantee his presence on next summer's team in Brazil.

"This is the year you want to shine and you want to make sure you're playing well for your club team," he said. "By no means is this the final roster. There will be new faces that come to Brazil."

Beasley isn't ready to think about his legacy just yet.

"I don't know how long I want to play," he said. "Just play until I can't run anymore and can't do some of the things I've been able to do."

Call Star reporter Michael Pointer at (317) 444-2709.

DaMarcus Beasley file

Position: Defender, U.S. national soccer team.

Birthdate: May 24, 1982, in Fort Wayne.

Career accomplishments: Signed to play Major League Soccer in 1999 at the age of 16 years, 10 months, the youngest player to do so at that time. ... Advanced to the Champions League semifinals in 2005 as a member of PSV Eindhoven from the Netherlands. He remains the only American player to advance that far in the tournament. ... He is fifth in U.S. national team history in appearances (113), tied for ninth in goals (17) and tied for eighth in assists (13). ... Older brother Jamar also has had a long professional career and now is a member of the Major Indoor Soccer League's St. Louis Ambush.