By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
If there was a definition of an “overachieving team” in an imaginary “Encyclopedia of modern European basketball”, then perhaps it could be summarized with a picture of Crvena Zvezda players celebrating another triumph against a competition’s powerhouse.
There aren’t any superstars featured in the Serbian team’s roster. Their budget is quite possibly the lowest among EuroLeague clubs. With each and every passing year they can’t do anything but watch one integral player after the other being lured to richer pastures.
Yet somehow, Red Star isn’t only showing exceptional survival skills in the jungle that is EuroLeague but navigates successfully through its treacherous paths. The road so far in the season brings them within spitting distance of the playoffs zone and a 6 – 8 record in their bags.
Of course, it’s only natural for team captain Luka Mitrovic to not be fully satisfied and believe that his team could’ve harvested more victories ahead of the second stretch of the EuroLeague regular season.
“I don’t want to be humble in this. We could have more wins in EuroLeague” he told to Eurohoops. “One or two more wins for sure. We lost some games unexpectedly especially at home. But that doesn’t mean that we aren’t generally satisfied with the record we have and especially with the way we perform.”
The new EuroLeague laborious format where everyone is facing each other, where teams sometimes play three games in six days (if we include domestic leagues matches) can be exhausting for every squad. Moreso, for a club like Crvena Zvezda that doesn’t travel with charter flights and its budget doesn’t allow comforts such as private planes.
Still, Mitrovic and his teammates endure. Well, actually they do a lot more than that. Apart from making a continuous statement that they belong in the highest level of European basketball, they are undefeated in ABA League, having won all their…. 15 (!) games in the season so far.
“This might be the toughest season for us since… forever! But we have prepared very well for this kind of challenge. Every one of us is very strong, physically. We are a very physical team and we can perform on high level for two, three times per week, if needed, with the same energy. We don’t lose an inch of our stamina.”
While on paper it looks like fighting tanks with slingshots, Red Star players have been known of bringing down some notable Euro-Bball “Goliaths”. Their most recent victim of this stature and power, was Real Madrid in Belgrade.
The 2015 European champions were defeated 82 – 70 falling victim to the sheer iron will that had also pulverized Maccabi Tel Aviv 83 – 58, less than two weeks ago.
While one of Crvena Zvezda’s main weapons is the intensely robust defense that challenges every opponent’s physical boundaries, an enviable chemistry that has been built over the years compiles an equally crucial winning factor according to Mitrovic.
“Most of the players have been in this team for several years. Our coach (Dejan Radonjic) is here a long time as well (since 2013). So we know each other very well. What is more, we are also good friends off the court. And when we step on the floor we know exactly what each of us is doing. What are our teammates’ advantages. Or disadvantages! The positives and negatives. That’s a main reason why we look so strong as a team.”
“Staying together and playing together. That’s how we played last season when won trophies in our domestic leagues and went to the EuroLeague playoffs.”
The 23-year-old forward has more than a leading part in his team’s efforts. After all, he’s is the captain, the youngest among EuroLeague squads. And he was actually first entrusted with the position when he was just 21 years old.
How can someone so young handle the pressure this role carries and the responsibilities that come attached to it?
“It’s not easy. I admit it. It’s a huge responsibility to be captain of probably the biggest team among countries of former Yugoslavia. With hundreds of thousands of fans. It’s a big responsibility, yet at the same time something that increases my motivation. I know that the coach trusts me and my teammates trust me. Even though my responsibilities are big, the help I receive from everybody in the team is equally large. And knowing how much everyone trusts you makes you believe in yourself even more.”
Mitrovic’s strong faith in himself served him well after suffering an almost season-ending injury last year. The kind which can easily lacerate the self-confidence of a young player on the rise.
Only days after helping Crvena Zvezda beat Strasbourg 81 – 59 in the first game of the 2014/2015 EuroLeague season, the Serbian player hurt his knee so badly during an ABA match vs Union Olimpija, that he missed six precious months of his career.
“This was my second rough injury in the last three years. It’s very hard for a player to come back twice from these kind of injuries the ones that keep you sidelined for a large part of the season. Injuries that take away so many months from your game.”
He was then forced to watch from the sidelines as his team made a successful run in EuroLeague, reaching the competition’s playoffs for the first time ever in the franchise’s history. While experiencing most his team’s progress next to the bench, the noise from thousands of Crvena Zvezda fans was filling him with beneficial healing energy.
“Being in a packed arena with the best fans in Europe screaming their lungs out, was a huge motivation in more ways than one. It helps you come back stronger. As I said, it’s a huge motivation playing for such a club. Now staying healthy is important. One of the keys to have a successful season with lots of challenges waiting for us.”
But 2015 wasn’t all bad news for Mitrovic. Not long after helping Crvena Zvezda win the domestic triple crown (ABA league, Serbian league, Serbian Cup) he was selected with the 60th pick in the NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. Something that probably came against all hope as he admits.
“I wasn’t expecting to be drafted… at all to be honest. Nobody guaranteed it But I got drafted and it was amazing. It happened after we got all three trophies in our domestic competitions and closed a wonderful season for me.”
The 76ers then sent his rights (along with Lithuanian big guy Arturas Gudaitis) to the Sacramento Kings as a part of a five-player trade which sent Jason Thompson, Nick Stauskas and Carl Landry to Philadelphia. Does Mitrovic picture himself as an NBA player in the near future?
“I spent this summer in Sacramento working out. It was a really nice summer for me and a good opportunity for me to experience something different. But I don’t really think about going there right now. I’m aware that you have to play a really high level of basketball for many years in order to get there. Right now I’m focused exclusively on how to finish the season in the best possible way with Crvena Zvezda”
The Kings vice president of basketball operations and GM is no other than Serbian basketball icon Vlade Divac, so it’s not a surprise that Luka Mitrovic is paying attention to his every word when he finds the opportunity to talk with him.
“We’ve talked a few times. You know of course, Divac is one of the biggest names in Serbian and European basketball. So every advice he gives is really important and I cherish it.”