Olympic Team Profile: Croatia
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Croatia returns to the Olympic games for the first time since Atlanta 1996. The team had to battle its way through the Olympic Qualifying Tournament to gain one of the three available spots for the big event in Beijing. A new golden generation of players that have developed their skills in the Euroleague is set to make a basketball country proud just like Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja, Stojan Vrankovic or the late Drazen Petrovic did 14 years ago, in Croatia's first major appearance as an independent country, when the team won the silver medal in Barcelona 1992. As many as 11 Croatian players have Euroleague experience and most of them shined in the competition last season, as Marko Popovic, Zoran Planinic, Davor Kus or Roko Ukic. These four players will share the backcourt duties with star-in-the-making Marko Tomas. Croatia will also be solid around the baskets with Nikola Prkacin, Kresimir Loncar, Damir Markota, Marko Banic or Stanko Barac. With an unique combination of size, talent, deep range and know-how, Croatia is hungry for success and may surprise everybody in Beijing.
# | Name | Pos. | H. | 4 | Roko-Leni Ukic | G | 195 | 5 | Davor Kus | G | 191 | 6 | Marko Popovic | G | 185 | 7 | Marin Rozic | F | 201 | 8 | Niksa Prkacin | F | 208 | 9 | Marko Tomas | F | 201 | 10 | Zoran Planinic | G | 198 | 11 | Sandro Nicevic | C | 211 | 12 | Damir Markota | F | 209 | 13 | Marko Banic | F | 204 | 14 | Kresimir Loncar | C | 210 | 15 | Stanko Barac | C | 217 | | Head Coach: Jasmin Repesa |
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Above all, coach Jasmin Repesa likes run-and-gun basketball, but Croatia has enough versatility to play in a variety of ways depending on its opponents. Planinic can dominate the game tempo while Ukic can change every game with his court vision and driving skills. Popovic is set to play shooting guard and will be ready to pull the trigger, while Tomas is set to shock everyone after a fantastic season in Spain and may well become the most pleasant surprise in the entire tournament. Kus or Marin Rozic will come off the bench to play specialist roles. Banic and Prkacin are blue-collar frontcourt players, tough and with good low post moves. Barac, who will turn 22 at the Olympics and Loncar, 25, have unlimited potential at center while Markota is a mobile power forward with unlimited range to break any zone defense.
Despite being unexperienced at this level, Croatia has shown what it is able to do in recent years. Its win against Spain at EuroBasket 2007 or its solid performance at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament proves it. Despite some key absences, Croatia is back in a world-class event but is not willing to play a minor role. The ever-ambitious Croatia has a good chance to clunch a quarterfinals spot and then try to reach mugh higher.
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Euroleague.net
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