Group D consists of Serbia & Montenegro, Spain, Israel and Latvia, headlined by Nenad Krstic, Igor Rakocevic, Marko Jaric, Darko Milicic, Jorge Garbajosa, Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez, amongst others.
Games will be conducted in Vrac, Serbia and Montenegro from September 16th to 18th
Read more about the Eurobasket tournament at the informative official website Eurobasket2005.com
The games will be broadcasted online for viewers in the United States and abroad via MediaZone. The early bird special to view the entire tournament in high quality for 19.99$ ends tomorrow.
Serbia and Montenegro
The Star:
Nenad Krstic- 7-0, Center, New Jersey Nets, 22 years old
Jonathan Givony
Helping Serbia and Montenegro try to take advantage of their homecourt advantage will be 2nd year New Jersey Nets Center Nenad Krstic. Coming off a terrific rookie season, especially considering the way he played in the 2nd half of year and the playoffs, Krstic has the potential to be a major force in the paint for the Serbians should they decide to utilize him properly. He is in a class of his own at the Eurobasket when it comes to his combination of size, mobility, skills, effort, toughness and intelligence. Although he is still a young player at only age 22, he has shown to be a terrific mismatch when utilized properly around the paint and especially in the mid-range area. If he can find a way to use his size and toughness equally well defensively and on the glass (he has been inconsistent in these areas) Serbia could be a force to be reckoned with in the post. The question is, will coach Obradovic have enough faith in the young center to use him for extended minutes and give him the touches he needs? The Serbians have shown to be extremely conservative and perimeter oriented over the past few years, and will need their top guards such as Rakocevic and Jaric to make a constant effort to get the bigs involved.
The Star:
Igor Rakocevic, 6-3, PG/SG, Real Madrid, 27 years old
Luis Fernandez
After an excellent season individually, but enjoying poor team results, this is the moment of the truth for Igor Rakocevic. He will be the clear cut offensive reference in the backcourt for the Serbian team. Very few players in this tournament will share his quickness beating his matchups one on one. Igor enjoys amazing legs and a terrific first step, being a permanent slashing threat for every moment hes on the floor. It wouldnt be that serious if he wasnt such a reliable shooter, delivering a text-book jumper with quite a high release, although he lacks just a bit of quickness in the process. So Rakocevic is not easy at all to stop whenever he decides to assume the offensive responsibility.
Igor is also a pretty nice passer, particularly off the dribble, and he will likely see some minutes as point guard even if hes not a pure distributor. Hes a good complement for Marko Jaric in the backcourt, given their size, but after him theres a dropoff regarding playmakers, so Igor might be able to take care of the job. In a squad where Bodiroga has been the leader for several years (occasionally assisted by Stojakovic or Divac), but where the generation changeover seems close, he will also have to prove if he can be a true leader for this team.
The Upside:
Darko Milicic, 7-0, Center, Detroit Pistons, 20 years old
Jonathan Givony
Despite just turning 20 years a few months ago, Darko Milicic is actually one of the few players who can stir up enough interest here at the Eurobasket to get both American and European fans alike interested.
Milicic is an extremely mobile 7 footer with a terrific body and all the length in the world to be an imposing force in the middle. Hes very skilled in most facets of the game offensively, starting with his jumper which extends out to the 3 point line, continuing with his passing and ball-handling skills, and concluding with a good looking hook shot that is extremely tough to stop when Darko establishes position deep in the post. Defensively he can be quite a shot-blocking threat when he is motivated, using his length and terrific vertical leap to wreak havoc around the hoop, especially at the European level.
Basketball fans have been able to see very little of that over the past few seasons, as Darko has been a permanent scowling fixture on Detroits bench since being drafted. In the Las Vegas Summer League this past July, Darko looked extremely rusty and had serious issues both on the physical, but especially in the mental aspects of the game in everything that has to do with his confidence. The lack of playing time hes enjoyed over the past few years is evident in everything he does, and we can only guess how much his potential has been shortened due to the way the Pistons failed to develop him through either consistent playing time or by leaving him overseas initially for another year or two. Darkos name has become synonymous with the skepticism that now revolves around many young International players, a constant caveat for teams drafting strictly on potential for the future. Detroit GM was so eager to show that he has not given up on him that he guaranteed the fourth year on his contract months and months before he needed to, right before signing fellow 7 footer Dale Davis to a free agent contract. Nevertheless, Dumars stated that "we have a plan for Darko to get more minutes in certain parts of the game." "This doesn't change that.
Everyone will be watching to see how Milicic looks without the chains of Larry Brown holding him back this upcoming season, and this tournament is a great chance to get his confidence going early while sending a message that he cant quite be considered a bust yet. He should receive the opportunities to do that backing up Nenad Krstic at Center. The question is whether foul trouble will be an issue as it has been when hes seen extended minutes this past summer.