Part 1: Croatia
by rick olivares
There was a time when Croatia was one of the most
feared basketball teams in the world. They had Drazen Petrovic, Toni Kukoc,
Dino Radja, Arijan Komazec, Zan Tabak, and Stojko Vrankovic who formed the core
of their Golden Generation. They came, they saw, and they conquered as they finished
in the top three in the Olympics, Eurobasket, and the FIBA Worlds.
After finishing seventh in the FIBA World
Championships of 1996, that fabled team – already without Petrovic who passed
away due to a car accident three years earlier – ended their run to give way to
a new generation of Croat ballers. Unfortunately, the teams that came after
Petrovic and company were never up to the task as the highest they could finish
was fourth place in Eurobasket 2013.
It has been 20 years as two generations of Croatian
basketball hopefuls have come and gone. If this team of Roko Ukic, Ante Tomic,
Luksa Andric, Dontaye Draper, Bojan Bogdanovic, Damjan Rudez, Damir Markota,
Krunoslav Simon, Dario Saric, Luka Zoric and naturalized point guard Oliver
Lafayette – with an average age of 25 years of age – play cohesive and team
basketball, we could see the shift of European basketball dominance from the
Iberian Peninsula to the Balkans.
Probable starters
Point guard
– Roko Ukic is one of three players
with NBA experience as he was a point guard for the Toronto Raptors and
Milwaukee Bucks before deciding that the NBA isn’t his thing (he didn’t get
much minutes) so he went back to Europe.
Ukic it a tall point guard at 6’5”, is a very good
ballhandler with a variety of moves to get him to the basket. He’s a creative
passer with terrific vision.
The problem is for a player of his talents he doesn’t
produce much in terms of points or assists.
If he doesn’t do too well, expect Croatia to tap
Oliver Lafayette who is the team’s naturalized American player (taking over
from Dontaye Draper). Lafayette played only one game in the NBA for the Boston
Celtics where he scored seven points while adding four rebounds and two assists
before he packed his bags to Europe.
Like Draper, he is a pest on defense but isn’t as
quick. Can shoot from the outside but strong suit is driving to the basket.
Shooting
Guard – Krunoslav Simon. A highly
erratic shooter. But even if he isn’t knocking down baskets, he pitches in by
playing smothering defense on his man. The problem is, Croatia needs him to
knock down those shots. Hasn’t replicated his deadly form from the 2011-12
season.
Small Forward – Bojan Bogdanovic, 6’8”. Can run the break, shot off the screen and
roll, can drive to the basket either left or right, can post up, and spin
around the defense. Croatia likes to isolate Bogdanovic and
let him create.
He is one of Croatia’s better post-up threats where
he can back his defender down. One he gets down low, has options to shoot over
his man or pass out to a shooter or can spin for a lay-up or dunk.
Power
Forward - Dario Saric is a versatile
6’10” forward who can score, rebound, and pass. Unfortunately for him, he too
is turnover prone and erratic on offense. Likes to shoot medium range jumpers.
If he is off his range, then he finds ways to help his team.
Center –
Ante Tomic is a 7’2” center was
drafted by the Utah Jazz in 2008 but has yet to cross the Atlantic as he
currently plays for Barcelona. This past season with Barca, he averaged 15.8
points and 6.4 rebounds. His numbers are slightly down save for his assists
that went up from 1.7 to 2.1.
But Tomic is mobile and agile. Has great moves in and
around the post. Will back up his man then spin left for the hook or right for
the up and under. He can also run the court as a trailer on the break and
finish.
Defensively, not great though.
Outlook: They are young and they have the height. They are
talented for sure but people would speak of them in even more glowing terms if
they were more consistent. Flawed defensively though.
It would be interesting to see the Philippines handle
their height and the length.
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