By Aris Barkas / info@eurohoops.net
Vasilije Micic was destined to be the next big thing in European basketball. Since his teenage years, he was under the NBA microscope, however, after being just the 52nd pick of the 2014 NBA draft, things almost got derailed. Micic stayed in Europe, trying to find his game with not much success in Bayern Munich, Crvena Zvezda, and Tofas.
He was not convincing anyone that he was ready for the elite level until Zalgiris Kaunas happened. Finally in 2017, when he was 23 years old, he flourished and got to be part of a Cinderella story with Zalgiris making it to the Final Four under coach Sarunas Jasikevicius. That was a sign for things to come.
Fast forward to today. Three years later, Micic is the reigning EuroLeague MVP, Sarunas Jasikevicius is his opponent in the EuroLeague Final as the head coach of Barcelona and the Serb guard is going to be a free agent in the summer. His time to make the next step to the NBA has arrived, but first, he had to win the Euroleague title. Here’s what he said to Eurohoops one day before the final.
Do you feel that as the MVP of the season, you have to finish it on a high note?
I am very happy that this happened to me. I didn’t really think this would happen to me, not because I don’t think I deserve it or not. I was completely focused on other things that we face and this is something that does not make any pressure on me. This is a good thing. In the end, you are working for something like this and now, would I feel pressure? No, I don’t feel it. I look at the game as I do every other time. We will see what happens.
There is this common sense that Anadolu Efes enjoys the most playing the game in Europe. There’s joy in your game. Do you have the same feeling? Do you think that you produce a similar beauty on the court which can be compared with previous dynasties such as Maccabi Tel Aviv of the previous decade?
I am really glad that people look at us that way and that they feel that way because when we started to build this, it happened really spontaneously. We found each other and our chemistry emerged really spontaneously, which was the best way I believe to build chemistry actually.
Of course, there are always good coaches that are trying to build that, but if this happens by forcing it, sometimes it can be broken. In our way, we are always new. We are always fresh in every game and we always try to enjoy it the best way we can, and it’s visible. People recognize that. I am glad to be a part of this kind of team.
Do you think this spontaneous built can also backfire? Because we have also seen you just stopping to play sometimes in crucial games. How do you explain that?
There is no valid explanation but I just think that it is a lack of concentration for some periods of the game. We are a rare team in creating such a big point difference in such a short period of time in the EuroLeague. Because we are ready to play both ways, offensively and defensively. That’s how we play. Sometimes you also wonder about that, like, why does this happen to us?
But at the end of the day, it is also important to win. Sometimes you just have to accept yourself with some mistakes. This is normal. We have to learn from that. As I said, in the semifinal game that was something that I saw from the outside as I didn’t play in the last three minutes after being ejected with five fouls. With some kind of experience we took from the Real Madrid playoffs series, we were really focused at the end. CSKA had a better momentum and the way we beat them in the semifinal felt maybe even better than if it were up by 20 points.
Do you think that you can give us a “boring” final, getting a double-digit lead from the first minute and not letting Barcelona get close to you?
I think it may not be such a pretty game to watch. It is also hard to predict anything because we will see. The game is a living thing on its own merit, I always mention this. You cannot prepare for this. This is an approach I always have and I am relaxed this way before the game. Because I never prepare myself for any game, I just go out and play. And Barcelona is the team that really does a lot of preparations for the games, they do some small things to stop the strong parts of your game. They will do that tomorrow but we have to respond the same way tomorrow. We have to take the game to where it leads us. If it starts well for us, we will take it. If not, we have to stay focused for 40 minutes.
As you said, this team is spontaneous and it just clicked, and what it produces on the court is really beautiful. Do you ever think that this might be the end, that can be your last EuroLeague game?
I just say this: It may sound like I don’t want to say something secretly, but I really don’t have any official offer. Not from the NBA, not from any other team in Europe, still not from Efes. There are probably some negotiations that are happening not behind my back, but behind my eyes. Because I really don’t want to think about this, I just want to be focused. This is something that happened when I was younger. There was too much news about me, so many talks that I do not like. I like to be focused on the moment and then some things will happen. Whatever I decide, I will be 100% sure about that decision.
You have already played a EuroLeague final but could you remember some previous EuroLeague finals you had seen as a kid?
I have really some flashbacks from then. I watched a lot of basketball. People used to call me BasketPedia. Because I watched a lot of basketball. But last five years, I don’t watch basketball at all. I have enough in my life. I enjoy other things more. I remember the Maccabi – Panathinaikos final with Diamantidis being the MVP of the 2011 EuroLeague Final Four. That’s something very remarkable. Also, in 2010, when Partizan was in the Final Four. Many Final Fours that Teodosic had lost, but I was very happy at the end when he won. I just think that this is really special. This MVP award that I got is very special for me because when I was younger, when Teodosic won his first MVP award – I remember this very clearly, for me that moment, it was like ‘Oh my God! Where is this guy? How good is he if he also wins the EuroLeague?’ And now this happened to me. This is the beauty of basketball. To work hard, to believe in possible things and not force them. It is how I live and approach basketball.
Who was your idol?
I have mentioned it many times. It was Dimitris Diamantidis. He is great. It is something that I have always been asked: Why not Teodosic, Papaloukas, Saras Jasikevicious? I watched them all but I always liked his humble personality. And he was the guy on the court. Off the court, you don’t hear so much about him but on the court, he was the one who stepped and responded first. He always tried to contribute to each part of the game. This is something I am trying to do as well. This couple of seasons, I am averaging a high number of points but my idea was always to put emphasis on everything whether assists, rebounds, or defensive stuff. This is something I always want to do.