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Future of Serbian NT

  • Thread starter Thread starter Straight forward2
  • Start date Start date
https://bleacherreport.com/articles...-full-predictions-and-round-1-pro-comparisons

https://twitter.com/GlobalScouting_/status/1728988742847987841

Bleacher report has Topic at no. 2...In few other mocks top 5 or 10. I don't think he will be top 5 unless he improves outside shooting by the end of season. Pull up, off the dribble shots from mid range and long range, shooting versatility is what he needs to work on and which could propel him to top 3 pick. Nevertheless, it's incredible to go from late second round pick to top 5 in two months of the season.

I read that Covic wants him for the next season at Zvezda...LOL. If he is top 10 or 15 pick he is going to NBA and immediately getting 20+ minutes per game. Having to choose between "famous" Covic's developmental system at Zvezda and actual NBA minutes and development by NBA coaching staff is a no brainer. The last thing Topic could do is go to Zvezda (Covic).

Watched Tristan Vukcevic last night. I have never seen a big forward shoot the ball like him. He has incredible touch in his hands and amazing feel for the game on offense. If he ever plays decent defense and get stronger, he is going to be so good. Him and Smailagic have such a good shooting stroke, with Tristan having ridiculous shooting versatility. At 213cm nobody is going block his shot on the perimeter.
 
https://allucanheat.com/posts/erik-spoelstra-wants-nikola-jovic-to-get-uncomfortable-with-the-heat

This might shed some lights on why Jovic is not playing. They want him to be able to play both frontcourt positions. I'm not sure Jovic's game is made for center, he is like a guard in big body, perimeter is where he feels the best. However, in long term, this might help Jovic to become a complete player. It's obvious that no one is giving up on small ball lineups in which everybody can move, so Heat are trying to get Jovic used to play at C too. They seem pretty satisfied with Jovic and his development, so there is still not a big reason for concern regarding his lack of minutes. In the long run, this might be very benefitial for Jovic as Heat are known for their great developmental program. But I can't help but think that they should first emphesize what he is good at and polish those skills, and then work on his positional versatility.
 
https://www.reddit.com/r/heat/comments/1925jx0/this_minute_of_play_from_jovic_was_unreal/

This is what prime Jovic is most likely going to look like. Impacting the game even if his shot is not falling. Heat's development staff is great, Jovic is improving even when he is not playing much. His defense compared not only to last year, but to start of this season is on another level. He is going to be a modern NBA forward who can affect the game in various ways, not only with his shooting, and that is what Spoelstra wants him to be as a player. He's got a lot of trust to be able to develop off the court which is really important.

This is also going to be huge for our NT. His rookie year in NT was fantastic, and he is going to come again as a different and improved player. His development is so important for our NT considering that PF position is the most vulnerable at the moment (not in the near future though). Jovic is the player whose improvement we need the most right now, because everything else is set and ready to go. Jovic and Jokic frontcourt on offense is going to be a blast to watch. Good luck trying to stop that.

A lot of praise on his work ethic and talent:

https://twitter.com/naveenganglani/status/1744561060856954904

https://twitter.com/naveenganglani/status/1744565088324112549

https://twitter.com/BradyHawk305/status/1744568197737554387

Great defensive sequence here
https://twitter.com/naveenganglani/status/1744541036037451908
 
Wow, that's unexpected. I didn't follow him closely, but I think they still had to be patient with him. I think he's not coming back to Europe as of yet. Still certain upside in him, just have to wait more, IMO.
 
Wow, that's unexpected. I didn't follow him closely, but I think they still had to be patient with him. I think he's not coming back to Europe as of yet. Still certain upside in him, just have to wait more, IMO.

It should be his fourth year. If you are not able to adapt in that time, thats it.
 
This might be a good thing for Poku, I root for his comeback to Europe. He needed a lot of time to improve physically, and only then to actually contribute on basketball court. Still very young and too early to write him off. I think he should come to Europe, prove himself and return to NBA. That's realistic scenario.
 
A few names to watch out at ANGT tournament:

Savo Drezgic - Partizan. He has been getting a lot of buzz lately and big interest from some top NCAA teams which will try to recruit him. No Topic this year, but Drezgic is another talented point guard who might have a quick developmental curve similarly to Topic.

Vuk Danilovic (yep, Sasha's son) and Nikola Karalic - Mega. Huge prospects in their generation, both ranked in top 5. However, they are just 16 and I'm not sure how much they can play in this tournament. Danilovic is a cold blooded killer like his father. Has all the moves in his bag. Karalic is a versatile talent who can do pretty much everything on offense.

Pavle Backo - Mega. Very talented center, gives some Jokic vibes.

Andrej Kostic - Zvezda. Recently debuted for Zvezda's senior team. Talented shooting guard, nice opportunity to showcase his skills.

 
https://twitter.com/Scoutspects/status/1764690148090864001

​​​​​​Kostic is a classic old school SG. Give me the ball and get out of the way is his style of play. 1 assist in 4 games LOL...However, he seems to be a full package with a deep bag of tricks. Can finish with both hands, goes to the left and right, shoots off the dribble with a lot of range and has a very good size. Best scorer of the tournament. Serbian U18 team should probably be medal contender if Drezgic, Kostic, Bosnjakovic and Stanojevic all show up. Some scouts say Drezgic is top 10 point guard in 2025 NBA draft. Nice ANGT showing for Serbian talents, Drezgic and Stanojevic in the best 5 of the tournament and Kostic the best scorer.

Couple of words on Filip Jovic. Scored 19 points in 14 minutes before injury in the last game. He averages 8 points in 13 minites per game. The man is a walking bucket. F/C with such a swift and quick footwork, great touch around the basket, explosive as a roller and very athletic. He can also face up, especially in some fake handoff sets using his athleticism to explode at the rim. Also showing some promising signs of outside shooting. Right now, works best as small ball 5, but I can also see him playing both frontcourt positions in near future. We haven't had this kind of F/C in a long time. He is a real menace and so aggressive attacking the rim. Should be fully unleashed at Mega next season.
 
Yeah, Kostic looks impressive. Very natural talent. Smooth, soft hands, nice awareness. I like Dzegic a little less, more rigid, more predictable, but still elite prospect.

Serbian BB will alright with Topic, Kostic as probably premier 1 and 2 pieces as well as Dzegic, Djurisic as their backups likely, next to all those versatile forwards as Jovic.

Serbia's basketball is top tier, way better than football. If Serbia has many problems in other areas, BB is surely not one of them.
 
A few moves from Kostic's recent debut for Zvezda...very talented, seems like he is not finished with growing. Very promising physical profile too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEFSRnSkpJs

Straight forward

Too early to tell who is going to pan out as star player. Most important is that there is a massive production of talented players, numbers will do the rest. Most of them won't live up to expectations but a couple of them certainly will, and that's what you are looking for in every generation.

As far as football, I don't watch it regularly. However, I know that Zvezda won Champions league and World club competition, and our youth national team won both World and European championship. So, there is also nice tradition in football, even though results from senior national team are not all that great. These kids might turn things around though :cool:

https://twitter.com/FSSrbije/status/1764244525264797974

Problems in other areas are Micky Mouse problems compared to what's going on in the world right now.
 
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https://twitter.com/EuroBasket/status/1777294008772911531

Definitely looks like the next big thing of our basketball. I can't remember when was the last time we had a guard with such scoring instincts and slashing ability. Milos Vujanic was a great scorer and shooter until injury slowed him down too early, but Topic is even bigger, stronger and can finish through contact. In perspective, Topic and Djurisic at 1 and 2 might be the best backcourt tandem in the near future and possibly have similar impact on our national team like Djordjevic and Danilovic had during 90's. When we add a bunch of super skilled forwards and surround Topic and Djurisic with shooters, the ceiling of that team is hard to determine.
 
Three young players who stood out the most this season at different levels of senior basketball are definitely Topic, Jovic and Djurisic. It's exactly what I hoped for before the start of this season. Their rise is certainly one of the biggest stories with this season coming to an end.

Topic recently returned to play after injury. He has been scouted very well, so nothing new to add. Playmaking, creation off the p&r, getting downhill are major parts of his game. We will see how he does in ABA league 1/2 and possibly finals. Playing against Djurisic will be so fun to watch because we might be looking at the future backcourt duo of Serbian NT.

https://twitter.com/tmetcalf11/status/1782538553173455009

Jovic. His development from the start of this season until this point is amazing. Especially defensively. He was unplayable at the start of season, spent some time in the G league, and now he is a starting PF for the Heat in their playof run. It's really incredible that he went from defensive liability to being a rock solid defender who can switch everything. He is capable to to hold his own vs Tatum, Brown and battle Porzingis in the paint. Jovic and Kalinic could be such a dynamic pair of forwards on defense. I fully expect Jovic to be one of the best forwards at Olympic tournament. Pesic will unleash him in a scary way. He just loves those type of forwards who can lead transition and play both ways.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1784355678041125354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5 Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1784355678041125354%7Ctwgr% 5Ea58dce7fdf28b67fe930b9acbcb9edde50198568%7Ctwcon %5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fvox92.net%2Fforum%2Fi ndex.php%3Fapp%3Dcoremodule%3Dsystemcontroller%3De mbedurl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FNBA%2Fstatus %2F1784355678041125354%3Fref_src%3Dtwsrc255Etfw257 Ctwcamp255Etweetembed257Ctwterm255E178435567804112 5354257Ctwgr255E54705dc1409cf408ab073fb9efc289175a 6917db257Ctwcon255Es1_26ref_url%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fww w.b92.net%2Fsport%2Fkosarka%2Fnba%2F17737%2Fjovic-prkosi-zakonima-gravitacije-video%2Fvest

Djurisic. He has been pretty dominant in the last couple of months. Dropped 51 points in two games vs Cedevita on great efficiency. His shot is improving, as well as shot selection. Loves contact basketball, very physical, athletic which results in many free throw attempts. Games vs Zvezda are a great chance to show off his talent in front of NBA scouts. It seems like he is putting it all together as his bag of skills is very deep. ​

Aside from these three players, big attention to Filip Jovic and Bogoljub Markovic who will be Mega's projects next season and will be unleashed with big minutes.
 
Djordjevic/Danilovic vs Topic/Djurisic - where past meets its future!?

What Djordjevic and Danilovic meant for our NT during 90's as the best backcourt duo in whole Europe, I think at some point Topic and Djurisic could be as impactful or close to being as good as those two legends. It's interesting to compare them and look for similarities and differences between them, taking into consideration that basketball has changed a lot in the last 30 years.

At the first glance, Djurisic has more similarities with Danilovic, than Topic has with Djordjevic. Djurisic, just like Danilovic, loves contact basketball. He is relentless and fearless at attacking the basket and imposing his physicality and ahleticism. Danilovic wasted no time with ball in his hands, and Djurisic seems to be in that same breed. The difference comes mainly in shooting efficiency, because Danilovic was a sniper with good efficiency, even though Djurisic can really shoot off the dribble in every way, his efficiency is not there yet. However, in the last 10 games Djurisic is 20/40 from three point range, so he may not be a lethal shooter like Danilovic but he can become respectabe one and that is what he needs considering that his strength comes from attacking the basket. On the other hand, Danilovic wasn't as good of a passer as Djurisic is projecting to be considering his willingness to create for others, which is something Danilovic lacked. From the mental aspect it is obvious that they both are fighters and extremely competetive. We will see how Djurisic continues to develop and whether he can get to Danilovic's level.

As for Topic and Djordjevic, the biggest similarity comes from the mental aspect. They both are cold blooded floor generals with incredible composure and decision making. Djordjevic wasn't nearly as quick as Topic or finisher at the rim as Topic (understandably because Topic is much bigg​er and stronger), while Topic is not nearly as good of a shooter as Djordjevic who was also taking a lot more midrange shots, which is something that Topic should add to his game. They both share the same ability to manipulate defense in various sets or make a great pass. Elite playmaking and reading the game is somethimg they both share at the highest level. It's funny because if Djordjevic had Topic's burst on the first step and finishing ability at the rim or if Topic had Djordjevic's shooting and midrange game, we would be talking about perfect basketball players which can be made only in video games.

To sum up, the reason why I think Topic and Djurisic could be similar to Djordjevic and Danilovic is not as much about similarity of their skill sets (even though there are striking similarities in their games as well as some differences) as it is about their mentality, competetiveness, the vibes they give on the floor, hunger to win and compete with anybody. The biggest similarity, in the way I can see it, comes from that mental aspect, readiness to control and dominate the game from the start. It will be very interesting to follow what they can become because ever after Djordjevic and Danilovic we haven't had such talented players on their positions who are also close in their age. ​

There was also one important striking difference that comes from growing and living in different circumstances. 30 years ago both Partizan and Zvezda, as well as any other Serbian/Yugoslavian club, gave all they could to talented young players, immediately giving them big minutes and chance to develop. That was one of the reasons why Djordjevic and Danilovic (and many others) became so impactful and mature in very young age. Unfortunately, today there is no room for young players in both Partizan and Zvezda. They spend millions under pressure to deliver results, so giving minutes to young players and putting up with the process of their development is not an option. That is the advantage Djordjevic and Danilovic, and their generation, had compared to kids that play basketball today. Luckilly, it has to be said, the Mega project led by Raznatovic is allowing the most talented players to get big minutes in senior basketball at very young age helping them develop. If there wasn't for Mega, it's a big question whether those talents would get any chance at all to play at high level.
 
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Interesting comparison. I think Topic has much higher ceiling than Dzordjevic. SGs comparison is more difficult.

Essentially Topic should be generational talent for next Serbian generation (let's call it post Jokic gen). He has everything for that and he should be ultimate motor, ultimate lead guard. If will carry this role to the fullest, Serbia will continue to collect medals.
 
Interesting comparison. I think Topic has much higher ceiling than Dzordjevic. SGs comparison is more difficult.

Essentially Topic should be generational talent for next Serbian generation (let's call it post Jokic gen). He has everything for that and he should be ultimate motor, ultimate lead guard. If will carry this role to the fullest, Serbia will continue to collect medals.

Topic may have higher ceiling especially in the context of NBA basketball, but I would sign up right now if he ends up having similar impact on NT as Djordjevic.
 
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