February 10, 2012
World Championship team profile: Croatia
Roko-Leni Ukic, CroatiaCroatia will make just its second appearance ever at the FIBA World Championships when it takes the floor in Turkey. Despite a rich basketball history and three appearances in the Olympic Games since the country gained independence in 1992, Croatia has only reached the World Championships once – in 1994 when Toni Kukoc and Dino Radja led it to a bronze medal. Nevertheless, head coach Josip Vrankovic’s men are confident after making it to the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games and the European Championships in the past two summers. However, Croatia has also undergone a bit of a turnover with stalwarts Nikola Vujcic, Sandro Nicevic and Mario Kasun walking away and passing the reins down to a new generation. Though there is clearly hope for the future – Croatia placed third last summer at the Under-19 World Championships – Vrankovic and co. are aiming to make things happen now in Turkey.

#
 Name
Pos.
H.
4
 Roko Leni-Ukic
G
196
5
 Davor Kus
G
192
6
 Marko Popovic
G
185
7
 Bojan Bogdanovic
F
204
8
 Rok Stipcevic
G
183
9
 Marko Tomas
F
202
10
 Zoran Planinic
G
200
11
 Ante Tomic
C
217
12
 Kresimir Loncar
C
210
13
 Marko Banic
F
205
14
 Luka Zoric
C
210
15
 Luksa Andric
F
210
Head Coach: Josip Vrankovic
Team Croatia enjoys a well-balanced roster featuring mainly Euroleague and Eurocup players. The attack starts with a dangerous backcourt that boasts players with varying skills. Roko Ukic of Fenerbahce Ulker is a lightning-quick point guard famous for carving up opposing defenses. He is teamed in the backcourt with tall playmaker Zoran Planinic of Khimki Moscow Region, super scorer Marko Popovic from Unics Kazan and savvy vet Davor Kus of Benetton. On the wings, FB Ulker scorer Marko Tomas and Bogdan Bogdanovic of Cibona pack plenty of scoring punch. Reigning Eurocup MVP Marko Banic compliments all around him well. At center, Ante Tomic is coming off a breakout campaign with Real Madrid, while veteran Kresimir Loncar of Kazan provides experience. There is little doubt that Croatia has the talent to be a contender for major titles in years to come and the question in Turkey will be whether that time has arrived already.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Euroleague.net
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