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European phenom Dario Saric made a huge sacrifice last weekend skipping two complete games for Croatian U19 NT in front of 50+ NBA executives.

As Nike endorsee he was not allowed to perform in the Nike sneakers because Adidas is the exclusive sponsor of all Croatian Basketball Federation youth programs.

According to Gol.hr/Vladimir Radicevic, prior to Saturday’s game with Serbia, Saric has asked Croatian U19 NT head coach Drazen Brajkovic if he could wear his Nike sneakers.

He received an negative answer.

Saric wearing Nike slippers on Croatian U19 bench
(photo by Vladimir Radicevic/Gol.hr)

Croatian Basketball Federation General Secretary Zeljko Draksic made the following
comment about the ongoing situation (source: Gol.hr/Vladimir Radicevic):

“In our deal with Adidas it is strictly precized, which all our youth selections’ members are pretty much aware, that they are obligate to wear the complete sports equipment made by our techinical sponsor.

Saric is the first case of this kind in Croatia. Of course that there were players who had private deals with the private businesses and I find it OK, but that was after they became the part of their senior teams. He (Saric) can not be an exception!

Kobe Bryant, for example, is Nike endorsee, but he plays the games in Adidas uniform and wears track suit with Adidas logo because Adidas is the principal sponsor of NBA.

Croatian Basketball Federation was not aware that Saric has a private contract with Nike, but he should have known what kind of contract CBS has with Adidas. We really have nothing to discuss with the Nike people since the situation seems absolutely clear.”

Saric wearing Adidas sneakers in separate workout
(photo by Vladimir Radicevic/Gol.hr)

Nike executives have apperently send a memo to FIBA in order to protect Saric and to find the most suitable solution for all sides involved in the situation.

According to Dario’s mother, Vesna Saric, it seems likely that Nike and Adidas executives will set up a meeing in order to resolve the situation and to enable him to do what he does best – play basketball.

Dario Saric, Croatian U19 NT (photo by Nike Basketball)

Zagreb CO European phenom F Dario Saric (1994/6’9”/207cm) was not able to perform for Croatian U19 NT at the recent 2011 Adidas Eurocamp since he is under endorsement deal with Nike, which is Adidas major competitor in the world market.

Not only that he was not able to suit up and showcase his unique talent in front of numerous NBA executives in Treviso, but there is also a probability that he will not be able to play for Croatia in the upcoming U19 European Championship in Latvia (June 30th – July 11th).

Croatian Basketball Federation (CBF) has a valid sponsorship agreement with Adidas which helps to suit up 300+ players in the various age categories. This deal reportedly annually contributes around 300000 Euros to Croatian Basketball Federation (CBF) budget.

It seems that there was little/no effort done by Adidas/Nike/CBF to clear out the situation with Nike. Dario Saric was very disappointed (source: Jutarnji List/Gordan Gabrovec): “On Sunday, after consultations, I have decided that it is in my best interest not to play in the Tournament.”

After being the youngest member of International squad in 2011 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, European phenom Dario Saric made a memorable comeback to his domestic obligations.

Playing for Dubrava Zagreb in Croatian A1 League qualifying part Saric has been absolutely astonishing during the month of April helping his team to win it’s last 3 games with an average difference of 18.3 points.

During the above mentioned game span 17-year old Saric averaged blistering 21.0 points per game while shooting 50% from the field, to go along with 13.0 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.0 steals while receiving as much as 8.7 fouls from the opposition.

According to Greek sports site sportnet.gr during the last couple of weeks Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos Athens has shown a tremendous ammount of interest in possibly acquiring Saric.

DARIO SARIC, ZAGREB CO (PHOTO: GOL.HR)

After returning from this year’s Nike Hoops Summit European phenom Dario Saric (born in 1994) made the following statement for CroHoops.com:

“Everything was excellent especially the last two days during which we quickly became accustomed to one another. Everything was nice but I really enjoy returning home to Croatia.

My teammates were physically stronger than me but I eventually managed to erase that deficit during the practices. Biyombo’s inside presence was really impressive and I firmly believe that he has a bright future ahead of him.”

Dario is already back on the track – he scored 15 points to help his team Zagreb CO win Borik 91:61 in the semifinal round tournament of Croatian Junior Championship which is held in his birthplace, Sibenik.

FIRST CROAT EVER TO PLAY IN THE HOOP SUMMIT GAME WAS CIBONA’S FORWARD DUBRAVKO ZEMLJIC BACK IN 1995. HE SCORED 22 POINTS IN 23 MINUTES OF ACTION.

Since 1995 there have been a total of 12 players from Croatia which made an appearance in the annual Nike Hoop Summit game. Here is the detailed list:

1995 – GAME INFO

PG Igor Milicic, BC Zagreb
STATS: 5 minutes, 1 turnover

F Dubravko Zemljic, Cibona Zagreb
STATS: 23 minutes, 22 points(8 – 9), 2 rebounds, 2 steals

1996 – GAME INFO

C Sandro Nicevic
STATS: 15 minutes, 3 points, 4 rebounds(3 offensive), 2 steals

1997 – GAME INFO

G/F Branimir Longin, Zadar
STATS: 20 minutes, 8 points

1998 – GAME INFO

Not represented.

1999 – GAME INFO

Ivan Kartelo, Split
STATS: 10 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound

F/C Bruno Sundov, Split
STATS: 10 minutes 8 points (1 three), 1 rebound

2000 – GAME INFO

PG *Marko Popovic, Zadar
STATS: 17 minutes, 11 points(3-4 threes), 4 assists, 1 rebound

2004 – GAME INFO

PG *Roko Ukic, Split
STATS: 28 minutes, 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists

2005 – GAME INFO

Not represented.

2006 – GAME INFO

Not represented.

2007 – GAME INFO

PG Aleksandar Ugrinoski, Cibona Zagreb
STATS: 10 minutes, 2 asists

2008 – GAME INFO

Not represented.

2009 – GAME INFO

F Tomislav Zubcic, Cibona Zagreb
STATS: 19 minutes, 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks

2010 – GAME INFO

G/F Duje Dukan, Deerfield HS (Deerfield, Illinois, USA)
STATS: 12 minutes, 2 assits, 1 rebounds, 1 steal

2011 – GAME INFO

F Dario Saric, BC Zagreb
STATS: 15 minutes, 7 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist

* – game starter
Note: The Nike Hoop Summit was not held between 2001-2003

As expected Team USA had no major problem in pulling yet another victory over the selected World Team in the 14th annual edition of prestigious Nike Hoop Summit Game.

With it’s outstanding defensive approach Team USA breezed to an 92:80 win over World Selection, which is it’s 11th win in the grand total of 14 contests.

By tallying 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocked shots World’s F/C Bismack Biyombo achieved the first triple-double in the history of the competition.

Team USA was led by 20 points from guard Austin Rivers, while F/C Anthony Davis had his way inside with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.

Dario Saric played accordingly to our yesterday’s prediction and had a nice outing with 7 points (1 three-pointer), 6 boards (3 offensive) and 1 assist in just 15 minutes of action.

Interestingly enough 2011 Nike Hoop Summit official World Team  measurements reveal that Dario is now 6’9” tall without the shoes, 6’10” tall with the shoes on, has a wingspan of nearly 7 feet and has only 4% of body fat, which was a World Team low.

EUROPEAN PHENOM DARIO SARIC, ZAGREB CO

This year Nike Hoop Summit game will take place tonight in Portland (Oregon, U.S.A.) and as usual it has already generated a tremendous amount of electricity around the basketball globe.

In the 14th annual edition of this prestigious competition Team USA will look forward to achieve it’s 11th W in front of the capacity crowd in Portland’s Rose Garden.

This game will instantly remove some of hype cruising around with some of the players involved. It will help confirming someone’s reported talent. It will help revealing someone’s hidden talent.

The youngest player of this year’s game comes from Croatia. His name is Dario Saric, his basketball idol is Magic Johnson and is considered the second coming of the legendary Bulls star Toni Kukoc.

Yesterday, Saric celebrated his 17th birthday and thus still has two extra years to reach his prime before reaching his climax for this competition, which led many to NBA.

Still, Saric has seen plenty of minutes this season for Zagreb CO subsidiary Dubrava Zagreb and thus should be ready to make a relatively strong impact in the limited minutes. This is nbadraft.net’s most recent update about his NHS stock:

“Saric is the youngest player in the Nike Hoops Summit this year (1994 born), but he doesn’t play like it. Dario is a prolific outside shooter with a very versatile and well-rounded game. He has good ball-handling and passing ability. Saric needs to continue to add weight, but he has plenty of time for that.”

The game starts at 04.00 CET and it can be seen live via FIBATV (to register click here).