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Article about some Croatian prospects
http://nbadraft.net/intreport005.asp
Site Updated: 4.21.05 -- Articles | International Report: Croatia Part I
Next Update: 4.21.05 -- Articles
International Report: Croatia Part I
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By Marjan Crnogaj
4/21/05
Searching for Drazen Petrovic
A team many basketball analysts consider as one of the best in the world over the last 4 decades, with a unique geopolitical situation, was the team of ex-Yugoslavia. More than half of its players were Croats.
The Croatian basketball pioneer in the US was the late Kresimir Cosic, a versatile big man who became an All-American at Brigham Young. He was drafted by the Lakers and the Carolina Cougars (ABA) in 1973, but he decided to enjoy a Russell-like career in Europe. He became a Hall of Famer in 2001.
Then came the 'Trail Blazer' Drazen 'Dragon' Petrovic, who alongside DC (Derrick Coleman), transformed the 'swamp' of the Meadowlands into a respectable NBA court. He was the best player outside the US before he came to the NBA, and in the States he became best European player in the NBA. A sharpshooter, always determined to work on his game (especially defense) was very unhappy he wasn't selected to be a part of the 1993 Eastern All-stars. He tragically died in an automobile accident after that season. He became a Hall of Famer.
The greatest sports ambassador Croatia ever had, Drazen Petrovic, led the newly formed Croatian team onto the Olympic stage in '92. It was a bright moment for the small newly formed republic, which had to pay for its freedom with the lives of many people. Playing against the original 'Dream Team' in the Finals was one of the top moments in Croatia's sports history, alongside Janica's 4 medals at the Olympics in Salt Lake City, Ivanisevic's 2001 Wimbledon win, and the national team's bronze medal at the 1998 World Soccer Championship in France. These moments will always be remembered as the brightest moments in our nation's sports history.
After Drazen tragically died, two of the most talented European players, Kukoc and Radja, decided to use the chance to play in the NBA, in order to prove that they are both high-caliber players. Radja enjoyed a 4 year NBA career in Boston and almost became an All-star in 1996/97, while Kukoc became an unavoidable part of the Chicago 'Triangle' and won the the 'Sixth man' award in 1997. He has shown tremendous NBA longevity, currently playing his 11th season in the NBA, and is surely the best Croatian basketball player in last decade. His name became a synonym for the modern era versatile basketball player.
Stojko Vrankovic showed tremendous promise, but mostly playing against Robert Parish in Celtics workouts in the early 90's. The most dominant European shot-blocker and rebounder, with perfect timing under the hoop, was brought back to the US in 1996. His Celtics teammate, Kevin McHale, brought him back as a 'secret weapon' whose task was to help the KG-bound T-Wolves initialize their first winning season in history. And it worked.
The third player from the legendary European club champions, Split, Zan Tabak, became Olajuwon's backup in his peak-years (93/94, 94/95). Then he went north, to Canada, and became the starting center of the Toronto Raptors in their inaugural NBA game.
He parted ways with newly acquired youngster Bruno Sundov in Indiana, who up until now, still hasn't realized his potential as a standard NBA player. But he sure won Isiah Thomas' trust to be a nice pick for third string center on any of his teams (Indiana, New York).
Dalibor Bagaric did show some promise in his 3-season stint with the Bulls, while his Croatian teammate from Cibona Zagreb, Josip Sesar, ruined his swingman potential by playing exclusively in Croatia for the past 5 seasons.
Gordan Giricek, who modeled his game and work ethics after late Drazen Petrovic, became the best European shooter in 2001/2002 with CSKA Moscow, and he's the most likely to succeed of all the Croatian players currently playing in the NBA. Mario Kasun (Orlando) is a big time 'worker' under the basket, and Zoran Planinic is slowly, but surely, learning how to become an effective point-guard guarding Jason Kidd in workouts. Both Planinic and Giricek are set to play in the starting line-up of the national team in the upcoming European Championships.
The best Croatian player playing in Europe, last season's MVP of the Euroleague, Nikola Vujcic (Maccabi Tel Aviv), has modeled his game after Kukoc, his fellow citizen from adriatic coast town of Split. Although as many as FOUR Croats played for the greatest basketball dynasty in the NBA, the Celtics, no Croatian player has been named an NBA All-star.
There are a growing number of young basketball talents in Croatia, and many draft-experts assume that this year's draft will have a number of Croats. We are featuring some known and unknown facts about the biggest Croatian basketball prospects at the moment.
Croatian Prospects
Marko Tomas (KK Zagreb) 6'8" shooting guard
Marko Tomas
Photo: AP
Almost everyone who followed basketball in Croatia 2 years ago didn't have high hopes for Marko Tomas. Sure, he was a big talent, but nobody dreamt that two years later he would be compared to the late Drazen Petrovic, and move his draft stock to where it is today.
He draws a crowd even on friendly and practice games, and I think there isn't much artificial hype around him. His current employers give him large amount of minutes, and his teammates (his brother Ivan included) keep feeding him the ball, all in a team effort to impress scouts. They would all like to see him go high in the draft, but he deserves it, as he is currently by far the leading candidate for the MVP of Adriatic League, and he can score 30 points against any team in the league if he wants to.
Though he's not a deadly shooter like the late Drazen was, he shouldn't be left alone coming from the block, or on any occasion, because he is almost an automatic 3pt threat. He has very good ball-handling and court vision that enables him to create off the dribble. He is also very skilled in positioning under the offensive glass.
He needs to improve his defensive footwork, overall quickness (especially in transition) and must add more bulk.
If Gordan Giricek doesn't show up at the European Championship in Serbia and Montenegro this summer, Marko has all tools required to play starting shooting guard for the Croatian national team.
He's willing to play in the NBA, but probably after one or two more seasons in Europe. Everyone on his team, in our country, and even in Europe has high hopes for him in the draft. I don't think people in the team's organization would make much trouble for him if he was to leave after being drafted and choosing not to stay in Croatia, as long as a proper amount is offered.
A month ago, in the middle of the season, his team (Zagreb) was faced with his agent's attempt to trade him to Spain's Tau Vitoria for just under $600,000 US. They refused, because they are fully aware that Marko's stock is going to rapidly rise prior to the draft. He is hot for sure, he's not a fake, and there are going to be a number of European 'fakes' in this year's draft. It seems that a few years ago, when Marko wasn't expected to turn into a potential lottery pick, there wasn't a clause placed in his contract which defines compensation if Marko decides to leave prior to the expiration of the contract. His agent has to settle that problem with his current employers.
It appears he's trying to follow in the footsteps of late Drazen, who also played a year in Spain before joining the TrailBlazers in 1989. Zagreb's GM Ivan Bozanic told me that he doesn't know why he wears number 33, but it's not because of Larry Bird, who visited Zagreb last year to see Marko play (more than once). He told me that Marko asked for number 3, but couldn't pick that number because of FIBA regulations which allow numbers from 4-15. Why 3? Drazen wore 3. If Marko possesses just half the work ethic that the late Drazen had a decade ago, and he does, he could become a top-notch player in a few years.
NBA counterpart: SG Mike Miller (Memphis), although Marko lacks 10-15 lbs. of muscle, he is much more versatile than Miller. He is not just a one-dimensional scorer, he is a complete player at 20, and he is still developing. If he can stay out of injury trouble, unlike Miller, and with the proper amount of minutes, he could log significant stats in the NBA. So far, he hasn't had any major injuries.
Roko 'Leni' Ukic (KK Split), 6'5" point guard
Roko Ukic
Photo: Sportsnet.hr (Bruno Karadža)
A creative PG who loves to make cross-overs, spin moves, and penetrates well, left or right. He has the size (6'6''), skills, speed, although needs to strengthen up a little bit. If he's stopped on penetration he has a nice little jumper from the lane, or he can use his developed spin move. He can be a very streaky shooter at times, but possesses the range to shoot NBA 3pts, and needs to work additionally in that department. He can play defense, has a nice footwork/anticipation, however, he needs to work on his help defense. He battles through screens well.
This season, his game showed real improvement as he played much more team-oriented basketball, mainly distributing the ball to his team's best shooters Rancic/Orsulic from the top of the key.
He also likes to use high-screens often set by his best friend Pasalic (who left the team) and to penetrate/dish on drives afterwards. If he hasn't been set a screen for, he can easily create a dribble drive himself, which he does frequently because almost everyone on his team is a very good shooter, so he can kick the ball outside for a shot. He doesn't use his jumping ability too much, he saves it mainly for crunch time. He can score 20+ and dish 10+ assists in any game in the Adriatic league. But overall he still can be a bit inconsistent.
His best asset, which I personally witnessed on some occasions, is that he's a student of the NBA game. He's known all about the NBA and it's players since he was a kid. His teammates appreciate that, and every time anybody from the media mentions the NBA he's deeply into it. In computer terminology, I would say that not only he possesses the hardware and BIOS, he has more sophisticated software, knowing every team, coach and player in the league. That could be something unique to bring to the draft table, since he'll likely need less time to adjust to the NBA.
He is most likely going to be a starter for the national team in the upcoming European Championship in Serbia and Montenegro, ahead of Zoran Planinic (New Jersey Nets) and Marko Popovic (Cibona Zagreb).
NBA counterpart: I would say Eric 'Sleepy' Floyd. His nickname 'Leni' means 'Lazy' in Croatian. Not that far from 'Sleepy'…and it's not just the name, Roko dribbles and penetrates like Floyd, with finger-roles and frequent dishes. Though he's not that good a shooter, he's bigger and has vast potential. He can take over a game with his play, but he is not 'pesky' like Tony Parker. He's essentially a bigger Stephon Marbury type who is very talented scoring, but lacks in the area of making teammates better.
Drago Pasalic 6-11 PF (KK Split), 6'11" power forward
He can play well on occasion, but recently the team's president, Dino Radja, acquired Ante Grgurevic, the 'Croatian Rodman' to strengthen up the team's position for the upcoming Croatian League play-offs. That alone speaks for Pasalic's game. He is not dominant, and sometimes he's simply not adequate. But he still knows how to play, and when he's tuned in he is decent scorer and rebounder. He loves to set screens, and pick and pop. He is also willing to battle for position, but needs to become more aggressive on the boards.
I don' t see him playing in the NBA first units, maybe he could play in the NBA eventually if he improves his aggressiveness on the boards a little more, although he possesses a nice touch from perimeter for a big guy.
He is currently training in Washington DC for the NBA draft. Drago was averaging 15 ppg and 5 rpg in 21 games before he took his agent and lawyers' advice and left Split after a contract dispute (he had not been paid since June 2004).
Pasalic had an impressive performance at the 2004 Chicago Pre Draft Camp, where he was not only the leading rebounder overall but also had one of the camps most impressive performances with 21 points (10-15 shooting) and 13 rebounds. He also earned all camp selection at the Reebok EuroCamp in Treviso.
NBA counterpart: Hard to think of anyone, maybe Kevin McHale with slower footwork. Europeans? Undersized Primoz Brezec (Bobcats).
*All three prospects have announced they will enter the 2005 draft. although there's a good chance that Ukic and/or Tomas will end up pulling out of this draft.
Part 2 will appear tomorrow.
Marjan Crnogaj
Zagreb, Croatia
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.Euros were new to the NBA back then as you know and he didnt act like he was intimidated by it.There was him and Saraunas Marcelonis who was no softie himself.