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Drazen Petrovic, Croatia
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talk![]() He was not as strong defensively as his American counterparts, but he showed a penchant for daring three-point shooting. "I have never seen any pro or amateur player work as hard," Nets Assistant Coach Tom Newell told the New York Daily News. "He's the consummate pro in commitment and dedication." Petrovic had shooting skills to match his energy. In his two full seasons with New Jersey he averaged 21.4 points. In his best-and final-season, 1992-93, he led the Nets with 22.3 points per game. "Even if you were a fan of another team, you couldn't root against him," teammate Sam Bowie told the Newark Star-Ledger. "You had to be impressed by him." The son of a police chief, Petrovic grew up in Sibenik, a small port city on the Adriatic Sea. He and his brother, Aleksander, spent hours teaching themselves basketball on makeshift courts... (more...)"
From
Fiba.com: "In 1989, the Yugoslavs assembled all of their “golden
generation” in what would turn into a 3-year dominance of world basketball
(European titles in 1989 and 1990 and a World Championship in 1991). |
Name: Drazen Petrovic Nickname: Petro Born: 10/22/1964 Status: Deceased, June 7, 1993 Origin: Sibenik, Croatia Height: 6-5/1,94m Weight: 200lbs/90,7kg Schools: University of Zagreb (Yugoslavia) Drafted: 1986, Third Round, 60th pick overall by the Portland TrailBlazers. Languages: Website: DrazenPetrovic.com & InterBasket Teams (jersey): Croatian National Team (4), Cibona Zagreb (10), Real Madrid (5), Portland Trailblazers (44), New Jersey Nets (3), IBN Dream Team (First Team) Ibn Notes: Enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player on September 27, 2002 "Drazen Petrovic was an extraordinary young man, and a true pioneer in the global sports of basketball. I know that a lasting part of his athletic legacy will be that he paved the way for other international players to compete successfully in the NBA..." ![]() Ibn Facts: Back in 1991, FIBA named Petrovic as one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players with the likes of other international basketball legends Arvydas Sabonis, Nikos Galis, Dino Meneghin, Juan Antonio Corbalan, Oscar Schmidt, Teo Cruz, Sergei Belov, Modestas Paulauskas, Toni Kukoc, Alexander Volkov, and Vlade Divac among others... the list was determined by votes from a group of international experts and coaches. "His contributions to the sport of basketball were enormous. We are all proud of the fact we knew him." --David J. Stern, NBA Commissioner
"It was a thrill to play against Drazen. Every time we competed, he competed
with an aggressive attitude. He came at me as hard as I came at him. So, we've
had some great battles in the past and unfortunately, they were short battles"
--Michael Jordan
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Drazen Petrovic links From our forum: Drazen Petrovic: The last melody of Mozart of basketball, Croatia Basketball Forum Articles and other resources: A New Generation of Stars: History of Eurobasket (Fiba.com), TNT NBA-Planet Drazen Patrovic Highlight Video (TNT, YouTube), DrazenPetrovic.com, Petro3.com, In Honor of Drazen Petrovic (Nba.com), Come.To.DrazenPetrovic, Drazen Petrovic, Paving the Way (YouTube) |