By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Goran Dragic stars in the list of the Slovenian national team for the upcoming Eurobasket 2017 qualifiers. A total of 27 names are included, but only 16 players will be eventually called in the training camp, which is scheduled to get under way on 20 July.
The full list is the following: Jan Barbaric, Jaka Blazic, Tomaz Bolcina, Domen Bratoz, Vlatko Cancar, Ziga Dimec, Luka Doncic, Goran Dragic, Zoran Dragic, Erjon Kastrati, Jaka Klobucar, Luka Kraljevic, Luka Lapornik, Miha Lapornik, Blaz Mahkovic, Blaz Mesicek, Gezim Morina, Edo Muric, Aleksej Nikolic, Mitja Nikolic, Alen Omic, Klemen Prepelic, Matic Rebec, Zan Mark Sisko, Miha Vasl, Gasper Vidmar, Sasa Zagorac.
It’s a bold move by coach Igor Kokoskov as Zagorac is the only player above the age of 30 in the list. Kokoskov has his eye in the future because: “My aim is that we prepare well and qualify to FIBA EuroBasket 2017. This is a very important competition for the future of Slovenian basketball”. Veterans such as 34 years olds Nebojsa Joksimovic and Miha Zupan and 36 years old Jure Balazic, who was Slovenia’s captain at FIBA EuroBasket 2015 are left out.
Kokoskov also presented on Thursday his staff which consists of Radovan Trifunovic, Aleksander Sekulic and legend Jaka Lakovic. The recently retired point guard, who is now taking his first steps into coaching, holds the record for most international caps with the Slovenian national team and he is a former Euroleague champ with Barcelona.