 As a kid growing up in Australia as part of the Serbian community in Sydney, young Aleks Maric heard plenty about the legendary clubs back in Belgrade. If he ever thought that he was going to play basketball someday in the homeland of his family, however, he kept it in the back of his mind. Indeed, his first stop out of Australia was the United States, where he played high school and then university basketball. Last season, his first as a pro, was spent in Spain, but Maric didn't see much playing time. Luckily, one of his teammates, Vlado Scepanovic, saw potential in Maric and called his old coach, Dusko Vujosevic of Partizan. The rest is history, albeit sudden and recent. Maric has exploded on the Euroleague scene as the competition's top-rated player after eight weeks. When he was named Sportingbet MVP of the Month for December, it marked just the third time in more than five seasons that the award has gone to a rookie. Best of all, that boy who heard stories in Australia of Belgrade's legendary clubs - and dared to dream he might someday join one - is now doing all this while wearing the black-and-white of Partizan. "I dreamed, but I never thought it would come true for sure," Maric told Euroleague.net. "You come up wondering what it would take, and here I am. Sometimes dreams do come true."
Aleks, it was almost a perfect December for you. How does it feel to be named the Sportingbet MVP of the Month so soon into your Euroleague career?
"It's a great honor to be Sportingbet MVP of the Month. And I consider it a big thing for all of us at Partizan, because obviously it depends a lot on my teammates and coaches, who have been a big part of my success this past month. Without them, it would never have been possible."
How is all your sudden success going over Down Under with your family, friends and people you know in Australian basketball?
"It's going well, from what I hear. The newspapers in Australia and the people in the Serbian community there are following what's been happening, and everyone is happy for me and proud. So that feels good. I've also been lucky enough to share it with my parents, who came here to Serbia to see a few games and will be here awhile longer, so I hope they can see us win a few more."
How conscious were you before of other Australians, like David Andersen and Matt Nielsen, making names for themselves in the Euroleague?
"Well, I followed their careers closely. I knew Matt Nielsen since he played in Australia for the Sydney Kings. And of course we followed David Andersen's success in the Euroleague and this year with the Houston Rockets. So, yes, I was definitely aware of the success Australians were having in the Euroleague."
Coming from a Serbian family, was Partizan on your radar as you came up in basketball, hoping to play there someday?
"I dreamed, but I never thought it would come true for sure. You come up wondering what it would take, and here I am. Sometimes dreams do come true."
 Is it true that Partizan learned about you through your former teammate, Vlado Scepanovic?
"Yeah, we were teammates in Granada, but he had played at Partizan early in his career. He was still in close contact with Coach Vujosevic through the Montenegrin national team, too. Vlado saw I wasn't playing much and had a bit of talent, so he recommended me to Coach Vujosevic, who is known for developing young players and giving them a chance. They stayed in touch, Coach Vujosevic saw some videos of me and decided to give me that chance. I have to give big credit and thanks to Vlado for all his help, because honestly, I thought it was a long shot that I would join Partizan."
About this month's games, you started December in Malaga, where you ended Unicaja's unbeaten streak. What was the key in that game?
"I think that the most obvious key was to stay composed while playing on the road. We stayed patient, especially on offense, and we played the full 40 minutes. We selected and executed our plays very effectively that night. Throughout the whole game, everyone on our team knew what they had to do and did it. We had great chemistry in that game."
Back home the next week, even before the game against Efes, was there already a different mood in the stands and in the locker room?
"Definitely. We were already on a bit of a roll. Efes was coming in, playing great basketball, and they have always been a tough team to play and beat. And when you have fans like ours, well, the combination of everything helped lift the expectations for that game."
Still it was a tough game: did you ever think you could get 34 points and 16 rebounds at home and your team would still need a big shot like Dusan Kecman's to win it?
"No, I wouldn't think that. That game was action-packed. And it went down to the finish, as you said. You could make a Hollywood movie just out of that game."
 On the road at Orleans the next week proved to be the one victory that was out of reach. But you tried to save it with a half-court shot at the buzzer, your first three-pointer of the year. Did you think it had a chance?
"It looked good, it really looked good. It was just a little too hard, or it would have gone in. But the point is that we can't allow ourselves to let it come down to shots like that to win games. We have to play better and smarter from the beginning and make our defense work from the start."
Like so many players before you, it seems that joining Partizan has sparked success in your game. Any thoughts on what's the secret with this team?
"Hard work is the secret. That's it, along with the chemistry and the atmosphere that Coach Vujosevic creates, which is amazing. Every practice is disciplined and precise. He doesn't accept less than 100 percent. That's the secret: no shortcuts. With hard work you can do anything."
Looking ahead, there's a lot of hard work left for Partizan still when 2010 gets here. What's most important in the hunt to reach the Top 16?
"Just to focus on one game at a time. We have Lietuvos Rytas first. They beat us by 20-something at their place. So we've got to get revenge for that game. It was unacceptable on our behalf to lose like that, even on their court. We have to play smarter, better and harder. One game at a time, playing smarter, and we'll see where that takes us."
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