Dario Saric

D.O.B.: 08.04.1994.

WING SPAN: 7’0”/213.5cm

HEIGHT: 6’9”/207cm

STANDING REACH: 9’0”/274.5cm

WEIGHT: 215lbs

BODY FAT: 4%

PERSONAL: born in the town of Sibenik, birthplace of the legendary Drazen Petrovic…his father Predrag was teamed up with Drazen…his basketball idol is Earvin “Magic” Johnson…very good student, particularly good in English…after a lucrative 3M Euro offer from TAU Ceramica signed with a BC Zagreb in 2009 as a 15 year old…his one year younger sister Dana also plays basketball for BC Medvescak Zagreb…his upside recently drew numerous comparisons with Spain’s Ricky Rubio who was named MVP of 2005 FIBA U16 EC with similar statistics…

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: named most prospective player of 2010 Albert Schweitzer Tournament…best scorer of the 2010 Croatian Junior Final Four…named MVP of the 2010 FIBA U16 European Championship…

WHAT HE HAS: natural feel for the game…versatile…surprisingly good passer…streaky shooter…almost a virtual triple-threat on offense

WHAT HE NEEDS TO IMPROVE: decision making…overall level of strenght…team defense…making a plays without a ball

COMPARISON: Dejan Bodiroga…but if he continues to grow for another inch-two he could become the next Toni Kukoc

RECENT UPDATE: so far he is averaging 1.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists in only 8.2 minutes per game while being forced to play at a power forward position most of the time – 30-10-2010

has been averaging less than 10.0 minutes per game prior to the visiting 84-64 loss to Serbian powerhouse Partizan Belgrade where he played as much as 22 minutes. He was able to demonstrate only a part of his potential versatility with 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. It seens that the general problem with his play continues because BC Zagreb’s coaching staff continues to ignore the fact that his most natural future position should be outside, playing the creator from the small forward spot. 16-year old Saric is averaging mere 11.0 minutes, 2.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.0 assits, and 0.4 steals per game. It is certain that time will come for him to showcase his talent, but he has to stay ready and focused – 09-11-2010

He is becoming more and more physically present. Playing mostly at the power forward position he moved well without the ball, but was a bit out of sync when he was given the ball. Had a huge night with 22 points and 11 boards, with a couple of breakaway dunks, but was not able to find his shooting touch until the late in the game. Cleaned the glass well, battled for position, showed a couple of nice cross-over moves but without finishing the plays. Did not rush things whole game, but he was the man in the clutch, as expected. – January 10th 2011

2011 NIKE HOOP SUMMIT – PRACTICE: could not connect from the perimeter. Moved well for his size and knew his place on the floor all of the time. Team player who mashed in well with the much older players.

CROHOOPS.COM TOP 20 CROATIAN PROSPECTS TRACKER: #10 on 01-10-2009…#4 on 01-06-2010…#1 on 08-08-2010…#5 on 22-10-2010…

TOP LINKS: “SuperKosarka” basketball magazine interview from 2006…“Dad, how much exactly is three million Euros?”…NbaDraft.net profile…DraftExpress profile…EuroHopes profile…NLB profile…NbaDraft.net: “European Phenom”(03-11-2009)…2010 Croatian Junior Final Four complete scouting report…CroHoops.com: “12 Questions interview with Dario Saric”(1st July 2010)…Nba-Croatia.com interview 19-08-2010…post 2011 Hoop Summit interview…