It could be said that no player has had a greater impact on Bennet Cantu’s brilliant season in its long-awaited return to the Euroleague than forward Vladimir Micov. He started all 10 regular season games, leads the teams in scoring, three-point percentage and steals, is tied for second in assists, ranks third in blocks and is among the top five in rebounds and three-pointers made too! His all-over contributions helped make Cantu one of the most dangerous and exciting-to-watch teams in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague this season and a serious contender in the Top 16.

Micov joined Cantu midway through the 2009-10 season from Caja Laboral, with whom his Euroleague debut earlier that season was less than spectacular. But from the moment he came to Cantu and began collaborating with coach Andrea Trinchieri, special things began to happen on the basketball court. From an early age Micov was touted as having vast potential and a great feel for the game. In Cantu he has cashed in on his skills by taking the team deep into the Italian League playoffs in consecutive years and earning a Euroleague berth this season.

Micov was a teammate of current and former Euroleaguers Kosta Perovic, Milovan Rakovic and Luka Bogdanovic on the Yugoslavian junior national team that won the European championships in 2001. At the club level, he grew up with Beopetrol Belgrade and also played for Nova Pazova, OKK Belgrade and Lavovi 063 Belgrade before joining Buducnost in 2005 and getting his first shot at big time basketball. Micov posted impressive numbers over parts of four seasons with the Montenegrin powerhouse, during which he also celebrated a handful of titles. He also had spells at Partizan Belgrade and in Greece with Panionios. Ultimately he moved to Laboral, which led to finding a new home with Cantu.

Perhaps what has impressed most about Micov this season is his incredible consistency. His statistics are not based on a few huge outings, but rather many very good ones. He has scored at least 8 points eight times, grabbed between 3 and 6 rebounds in all but one game, achieved double figures in index rating seven times, netted multiple threes in four games and never committed more than 3 turnovers in a game. The bottom line has been that in virtually every game, you can count on getting a big contribution from Micov.

The Top 16 is uncharted waters for Micov, but on a team with four players that have sampled a Final Four, the versatile swingman can focus on his role on the court, while leaving the leadership to others. No longer will Cantu be taken lightly, but with Micov leading a deep and eager squad, there is no limit on how far this team can go.