Hoop Summit: Tomislav Zubcic
15 April 2009
Few of the players on show in the Nike Hoop Summit on Saturday will have had a tougher journey to get there than TOMISLAV ZUBCIC. Here, the Croatian forward tells his fascinating story:
I started playing basketball at 10, which is pretty late compared to some kids in Europe. My dad used to play basketball and I would go with him to games but it was not until my cousin - who now plays in the Ukraine - said, 'Go and try it,' that I went to a team.
I was born in Zadar, that was my first team, and the first time I went to practice, I loved basketball. It was my first love, love at first sight!
Why? Because it is a team game. I like being part of a team, I don't want to be selfish, I don't want to be an individual, I don't want to be a tennis player or a golfer. I want to be part of a team, doing my best for other people, trying to bring something - a trophy, glory - to a club.
So, I was with Zadar with three or four years then I went to Union Olimpija in Slovenia for five or six months and Fortitudo Bologna in Italy for the same, five or six months, then, at the under-16 European Championships in 2006 I did ok and Cibona called me to see if I wanted to go home to play.
I went to Slovenia when I was 14 and that was tough. I was without my parents, without anybody. I got an apartment from the club and had two room mates and it was good ... but tough, being in another country so young. I went to school but basketball was my life and I didn't have anyone with me. I was a 14-year-old alone in a different country.
It was the same in Italy but not so tough because Italy is a very good place to live and play basketball and the people are nice there and want to help.
But when I got the chance to go home to Cibona I said ok, it was better to be in my own country and get the chance to play near my parents and home. Looking back, I never knew how tough it was going to be living in a new country and I think it helped me, toughened me up ... but it was hard.
Being here in Portland this week reminds me of home! I look at the nature, the woods, the rivers, the green and I like that. I'm from a small village in Croatia and this is like home. But I am here to play the game, to meet people, to learn things and do my best.
I played in a tournament in Dallas last summer and played two games against American teams. Americans play hard but as individuals. Everything is one-on-one, who is stronger. Basketball is a team game but here, in America, it is an individual game.
In Europe, you need to use your brain. That's what we must show the Americans on Saturday - how we play the game in Europe, which is the style everybody should play - pass the ball, shoot, defend, as a team. In Europe, basketball is all about teamwork, that's how it is supposed to be.
Last year in Dallas, I won one game and lost one game by two points and I enjoyed beating the Americans. I want to do it again. We must think like a team and do everything to beat them.
Photo Credit: USA BASKETBALL
I started playing basketball at 10, which is pretty late compared to some kids in Europe. My dad used to play basketball and I would go with him to games but it was not until my cousin - who now plays in the Ukraine - said, 'Go and try it,' that I went to a team.
I was born in Zadar, that was my first team, and the first time I went to practice, I loved basketball. It was my first love, love at first sight!
Why? Because it is a team game. I like being part of a team, I don't want to be selfish, I don't want to be an individual, I don't want to be a tennis player or a golfer. I want to be part of a team, doing my best for other people, trying to bring something - a trophy, glory - to a club.
So, I was with Zadar with three or four years then I went to Union Olimpija in Slovenia for five or six months and Fortitudo Bologna in Italy for the same, five or six months, then, at the under-16 European Championships in 2006 I did ok and Cibona called me to see if I wanted to go home to play.
I went to Slovenia when I was 14 and that was tough. I was without my parents, without anybody. I got an apartment from the club and had two room mates and it was good ... but tough, being in another country so young. I went to school but basketball was my life and I didn't have anyone with me. I was a 14-year-old alone in a different country.
It was the same in Italy but not so tough because Italy is a very good place to live and play basketball and the people are nice there and want to help.
But when I got the chance to go home to Cibona I said ok, it was better to be in my own country and get the chance to play near my parents and home. Looking back, I never knew how tough it was going to be living in a new country and I think it helped me, toughened me up ... but it was hard.
Being here in Portland this week reminds me of home! I look at the nature, the woods, the rivers, the green and I like that. I'm from a small village in Croatia and this is like home. But I am here to play the game, to meet people, to learn things and do my best.
I played in a tournament in Dallas last summer and played two games against American teams. Americans play hard but as individuals. Everything is one-on-one, who is stronger. Basketball is a team game but here, in America, it is an individual game.
In Europe, you need to use your brain. That's what we must show the Americans on Saturday - how we play the game in Europe, which is the style everybody should play - pass the ball, shoot, defend, as a team. In Europe, basketball is all about teamwork, that's how it is supposed to be.
Last year in Dallas, I won one game and lost one game by two points and I enjoyed beating the Americans. I want to do it again. We must think like a team and do everything to beat them.
Photo Credit: USA BASKETBALL
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