Službena Web Stranica CroHoops Lige

G/F Bojan Bogdanovic (photo by Cibona.com)

After the Nets used a series of draft day swaps and landed Croatian swingman Bojan Bogdanovic (6’7”/1989) ESPN analyst Chad Ford labelled the move as “a steal for the Nets, perhaps one of the biggest steals of the (Draft) night.”

Brandon Putre/Bleacherreport.com wrote that “The ever sneaky GM Billy King should be locked up for the theft he committed to open the second round of the draft.”

The same site goes even further in recognizing Bogdanovic’s potential trade value and builds up a trade theory that Bojan could help Nets in bringing over Orlando’s superstar Dwight Howard (!).

Independent basketball expert close to CroHoops.com grades Bogdanovic “as the new millennium version of the legendary Nets SG Drazen Petrovic, who enjoys to excel, but who will need to demonstrate the same level of desire and determination in order to be successful in the NBA. He will need to work, day in and day out to prove that he belongs to that level.”

The amount of publicity Bogdanovic received in the last couple of days is just incredible. New Jersey Nets organization as well as their community are becoming more and more aware they have landed one of the most intriguing European basketball prospects besides Rubio, Vesely, Mirotic…

But it seems that the Nets organization and the fans will have to wait for a couple of years. According to 24sata.hr/Ivan Zuric Bogdanovic has firmly decided to stay on European soil:  “I will work off two years of my contract with Fenerbahce and then we shall see. I want to play in Europe, continue to improve, there is time for NBA…”

Today, Nets will introduce all three of their 2011 Draft picks, including Bogdanovic, who has already spoken (VIDEO) with the New Jersey Nets related media after one of his predraft workouts.

Danko Cvjeticanin, Nets’ European scouting coordinator

New Jersey Nets’ European scouting coordinator Danko Cvjeticanin released the following exclusive statement regarding the series of draft day trades which made Croatian swingman Bojan Bogdanovic (6’7”/1989) potential future member of the New Jersey Nets organization.

“From the begining of the Draft Bogdanovic was our choice together with Brooks whom we had choosen in the first round. Because of that all of the transactions we made were created in our Draft room.

He (Bogdanovic) is a player who has extremely improved over the last two seasons. Not only that he is an excellent shooter, but he also became offensive threat with his ability to penetrate and even as a low post option. In the last 7 days Bojan has visited New Jersey Nets twice and showed us that he is a top notch talent.

We are very pleased and happy that we have landed Bojan and we hope that after his successful Euroleague campaign for Fenerbahce he will continue his basketball career on the  blazing trail which legendary Drazen Petrovic’s made in the New Jersey Nets organization.”

G/F Bojan Bogdanovic, Croatia

Croatian swingman phenom Bojan Bogdanovic (6’7”/1989) had quite an interesting and unpredictable 2011 NBA Draft night as he was involved in a series of Draft day trades.

First he was selected by 2011 NBA finalist Miami Heat with 31st pick overall. This was just too good to be true in Bogdanovic’s ears until Pat Riley decided to deal him just after the Draft.

The Miami Heat have then acquired the draft rights to guard Norris Cole, 28 overall pick, from Minnesota in exchange for Bogdanovic and a second-round selection in 2014.

However that was not the end of Bogdanovic one-night virtual journey. He was again traded, this time from Minnesota Timberwolves to New Jersey Nets for cash considerations.

NBA Draft source close to CroHoops.com has shared his opinion on the matter:
“At the end of the day, Nets have indeed found a “diamond in the rough”. It’s true that he needs to polish his game (in Europe), but his skills and athleticism, combined with extensive Euroleague experience, make Bogdanovic a very interesting player in anyone’s eyes.

Bogdanovic is now projected to stay in Europe for another season, most probably with Turkish champion Fenerbahce Ulker which is coached by Croatian international Neven Spahija.

Bojan Bogdanovic (photo by Cibona.com)

According to Sam Amick of SI.com, Portland Trail Blazers may be targeting Croatian G/F Bojan Bogdanovic with the 21st pick of 2011 NBA Draft, which is scheduled for June 23rd.

Here is the complete excerpt from the article: “A source says the Blazers have eyes for swingman Bojan Bogdanovic of Croatia and could gamble on the impressive shooter in this spot.”

22-Year old Bogdanovic impressed numerous scouts while providing both leadership and
scoring punch for the struggling Croatian powerhouse Cibona Zagreb last season.

Tomislav Zubcic and Leon Radosevic (photo by gol.hr)

According to nbadraft.net Cibona Zagreb talented forwards Tomislav Zubcic and Leon Radosevic have withdrawn their names from Early Entry list prior to the deadline on June 13th 2011. Cibona is looking forward to build it’s future roster around the 21-year old forward duet.

Radosevic has reportedly sustained still uncategorized leg ankle injury after coming down on one of the player’s foot while in Treviso. He could be lost for Croatian NT plans this summer. Zubcic is looking forward to take the rest of the week off before joining Croatian “B” N.

As much as 14 out of 20 early entry international applicants have withdrawn their applications. Partizan Belgrade forward Jan Vesely, who stayed in, is currently listed as the top ranked international player at #5 in nbadraft.net’s 2011 NBA Draft mock draft.

Here is a complete list (source: NbaDraft.net/Aran Smith):

International Early Entry Withdrawals

Andrew Albicy Paris-Levallois (France)
Furkan Aldemir Karsiyaka (Turkey)
Nihad Djedovic Lottomatica Roma (Italy)
Manolis Koukoulas Ilysiakos (Greece)
Joffrey Lauvergne Chalon] (France)
Abdoulaye Loum Le Havre (France)
Lucas Nogueira Estudiantes II (Spain)
Femi Oladipo Crailsheim (Germany)
Leon Radosevic Cibona (Croatia)
Negueba Samake Rouen (France)
Tornike Shengelia Verviers-Pepinster (Belgium)
Abdel Kader Sylla Nancy (France)
Jonas Wohlfarth Bottermann Telekom (Germany)
Tomislav Zubcic Cibona (Croatia)

Staying in Draft

Davis Bertans Union Olimpija (Slovenia)
Bismack Biyombo Fuenlabrada (Spain)
Nikola Mirotic Real Madrid (Spain)
Donatas Motiejunas Benetton Treviso (Italy)
Jonas Valanciunas Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania)
Jan Vesely Partizan (Serbia)

Tomislav Zubcic & Leon Radosevic (photo by Gol.hr)

According to Vecernji list/Drazen Brajdic strugling Croatian powerhouse somehow managed to pay it’s growing debt to potential draftees Zubcic and Radosevic just before contract deadline.

Rough estimate is that the two have received just around 200.000 US$. Compesation claim for European teams amounts 500000 Euros for each of the players, while the same figure for NBA teams is a bit lower at 500000 US$.

Cibona has made this move just before run out of the contract clause which would enable both players to freely leave in the case of the more lucrative offer which both have received lately.

Both Zubcic and Radosevic have attended NBA workouts for the last 2 weeks and will be eager to showcase their skills on this weekend’s Adidas Eurocamp elite gathering in Treviso, Italy.

According to a undisclosed scouting source “Sixers could use their 2nd round pick on a Euro sleeper. Zubcic shot lights out at the workout in Philly and showed off his fluid athleticism, ball handling ability, and range shooting ability. He is said to be a 1st round talent who will drop because his contract runs through 2014. A name to keep an eye on.”

Both Zubcic and Radosevic share the same agent who has been very clear about his intentions regarding the two: “If they are succesfull in Treviso we will stay IN. Otherwise we will decide to go OUT.” NBA Draft early entry withdrawal deadline is scheduled for June 13th 2011 (5:00 p.m. ET).

Third and the most exponated of Cibona “Young Guns” trio, talented G/F Bojan Bogdanovic has reportedly leave for U.S.A. where he will attending series of workouts in the next couple of weeks in an effort to increase his current Draft stock.

Interestingly enough both Zubcic and Radosevic could face elite Croatian U19 squad (feat. Saric, Hezonja and Mavra), which will be the special guest of 2011 Adidas Eurocamp.



According to nba.com Cibona’s dynamic forward duet Tomislav Zubcic (7’0”/1990) & Leon Radosevic (6’10”/1990) have officialy declared as the early entries for this year’s NBA Draft which will take place on Thursday, June 23, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Although both players have shown tremendous overall progress during the last two seasons
and their current worth is undisputable, many experts still claim that “they would be considered as “projects” if they decide to leave for NBA”.