[lptitle title=”Start the countdown”]
[lpcontent]
By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The Eurobasket is less than a week away and here are the stars of the show. Eurohoops picked the elite of the elite, just 20 of the players who are not only the leaders of their teams, but also in some cases already legends in the history of world basketball.
It wasn’t an easy choice and many big names were not included. It’s a pre-olympic year and that’s one of the biggest motives for any player to dress up for his national team and try to get not only a Eurobasket medal, but also the right to participate in the Olympics. We expect one of the best tournaments in recent years and those distinguished gentlemen are a big reason for that.
[/lpcontent]
[lptitle title=”20. Bogdan Bogdanovic“]
[lpcontent]
He’s coming from a very good World Cup with Serbia and a first season with great demands in Fenerbahce . He’s an excellent three-point shooter and this remains his biggest weapon. Now, then, the demands made of him are bigger than ever but he’s more prepared to deliver.
In a EuroBasket that has great quality, Bogdanovic must emerge as one of the main go-to guys alongside the leader Teodosic, since he’s the one who is expected to be Milos’s future successor in Serbia’s backcourt. Meanwhile the Suns who drafted him are going to be looking….
[/lpcontent]
[lptitle title=”19. Dario Saric“]
[lpcontent]
Croatia’s “boy-wonder” has grown up and was selected in the draft by the Sixers. At the level of the Euroleague for the first time in his career he struggled, but his future is clearly bright and his improvement is obvious. In Anadolu Efes he couldn’t produce the numbers and the presence he had with Cibona, but the fact that he found himself in a unit with a lot more talent than he was used to his teammates having in the past, definitely helped him.
In the national team of Croatia his presence is crucial for the success of the whole, something that was apparent from his presence in FIBA’s World Cup last year. A year later, more mature and more prepared, he will be called to do a lot of things in a role similar to the one that the next guy on the list has in the Serbian national team…
[/lpcontent]
[lptitle title=”18. Nemanja Bjelica“]
[lpcontent]
The “professor” is getting ready to make the next step in his career, having left Fenerbahce for Minnesota. With the Euroleague’s MVP award as his badge from the season that ended, Bjelica is the kind of player that is absolutely pivotal in the teams he plays for.
He’s the man who does everything when needed since he can score, pass, play defense and get rebounds. His role was decisive in Serbia’s success last year in FIBA’s World Cup and he’ll have to be as good for coach Sasa Djordjevic’s “Eagles” to repeat a similar feat. The good thing about Bjelica is that, because of his skills, he always finds a way to be useful.
[/lpcontent]