By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
The Croatian national team is having a rough time in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers as they are on the last spot in their group, with a 1-3 record. During the games in February window, losing to Romania 58-56, and managed to snatch a victory against the Netherlands 82-78.
The current situation caused some notable reactions, even by Croatian Basketball Federation president Stojan Vrankovic. In an interview for Index, Croatian Basketball Federation Chief of Staff and national team legend Dino Radja also shared his thoughts on the current results, people in charge and the youngest generation of national team players.
When Radja was asked if he considered resigning following the February Window of the World Cup Qualifiers that included the shock against Romania and the drama against the Netherlands, he commented that it was an idea that crossed his mind.
“Of course, it came to my mind, but we decided to stay. Who knows what will happen, but for now, I don’t plan on resigning. I’d like to use this opportunity to clear some things up. A few days ago, an information about me going to Cedevita appeared. Never, but never were there any talks on that subject, and all I can say is that it was all made up by evil people. The only truth in all this is that I left Split, and wish to go to Zagreb with my family, so I can give my child best conditions. Nothing else.”
After clearing up the gossip, he continued about the basketball system in Croatia, and the game against Romania:
“Croatian basketball situation is what it is. It’s not like that from yesterday. It is going on for years. However, nobody made a fuss about it while the big leader plunged and burned. The problem of Croatian basketball is neither Skelin, nor Dino, nor Stojko. Neither are the guys that play today. The problem is the devastation of coaches’ structure. Everything is turned to a small interest, throwing hands up for a small favor. And that has been going up for more than 20 years. To fix all that, in a year or two, it’s impossible. Everybody is looking for a scapegoat now, and that’s Skelin. Were 25 out f 26 three-pointers open against Romania? Yes. Would everybody that knows a thing about basketball, considering the roster, give Kruslin the last shot? Of course, they would. Kruslin was the best choice. And he shot 1/10. Did he want to shoot 1/10? Something like that never happened to him before, and I am sure it will not happen again. Nor do I blame him for anything.”
He also compared the current generations, with older ones, especially their hardness and gutsiness:
“The Croatian basketball problem is that these guys never learned to play (the sport) with balls. I guarantee right now, that I, Stojko (Vrankovic), Joke (Josip Vrankovic), (Karlo) Uljarevic kid, and (Nikola) Prkacin’s kid would lead the first quarter – because we don’t have enough condition for more – against Romania. You know why? Because the three of us would beat them up. The two of them would need to play a solid defense and run, and we would beat them up. So, against Romania, we didn’t need anybody. We should’ve gathered and said: ‘Romanians? Burst into laughter, go out and beat them’. But our problem is that we are not raising kids that way for years, they are afraid of every shadow. Are Stojko and I guilty for that?”
It seems there is some bad blood between him and his former friend Neven Spahija, using his chance to comment:
“And now I am getting lessons from Spahia, who kissed the big leader’s ass for four years. When he was 11th on EuroBasket and didn’t qualify for the World Cup, he didn’t talk then about it being a tragedy. Now, he is. Also, I have no idea, where he heard that I spoke about us not wanting to qualify for the World Cup. I said it’s not a tragedy if we don’t make it because we don’t have the quality.”
He also provided some insights, in the youngest players, as he believes, the problem starts with their development:
“Last summer I watched U-14, U-16, U-17, U-18, cadets, and juniors, I watched everything there is in Croatia. U-14 NT loses to Israel 30 points. When you see them before the game getting ready, it looks perfect. Two guys with 205cm, two 2 meter buffalos that look phenomenal. And then you look at them and you see they are all the same. One with 193cm, and 11 more like that. But when they got us into their playing style, we lost our heads. And who is to blame? The people that coached them. You know when they would play for my team? Never. People don’t understand that we have to do the bloody job, the bloody work, from the start. From coaches to the youngest teams. During cadet and junior tournaments, I was in the arena from 10 a.m until 11 p.m. I never saw that one journalist that is giving lessons about how we should have played with the best. The only thing I am sorry for is agreeing to compromise and call some players. If I didn’t, If I stayed faithful to the idea of playing the qualifications with only the junior team, our record would be 1-3 as it is now. Maybe then we would have 12 Uljarevic. What do we have now? That’s what I am guilty of and I admit it”