Jaric, Radmanovic given second chance by new Serbia coach

May 30, 2007 - 3:58 PM BELGRADE, Serbia (Ticker) - New Serbia coach Zoran Slavnic is just the man to give Marko Jaric and Vladimir Radmanovic a fresh start with the national team.

"I like problematic players," Slavnic said at his introductory news conference. "That means that these men have their own attitude, their own personality."

Slavnic wasted no time in recalling the NBA players to the national team as he begins rebuilding a program in transition and preparing for 2007 EuroBasket in September.

Jaric and Radmanovic were part of Serbia & Montenegro's gold medal team from the 2002 World Championships. However, their international careers appeared to hit a wall when the loaded Serbs crashed out of 2005 EuroBasket in undignified fashion, losing to France in the elimination round.

Then-coach Zeljko Obradovic blamed the failures on dissension within the team, pointing the finger at those playing in the NBA - namely Jaric and Radmanovic.

Neither player was selected for last year's World Championship, which saw Serbia begin a transition to a younger roster of less-established players.

Receiving a wild card for the tournament, the Serbs got through group play but bowed out immediately thereafter, leading to more soul-searching back home.

With that in mind, Dragan Kapicic, elected president of the Serbian Basketball Federation in April, began to hint that coach Dragan Sakota would be replaced. Last week, Sakota resigned, clearing the way for Slavnic's appointment.

Slavnic was a critic of the Sakota era and intends to take the program in a different direction. Jaric and Radmanovic were just two of several players given fresh starts with the team.

"I wouldn't like to speculate just because of rumors, because I wasn't close to the national team when those so-called misunderstandings happened," he said. "I admire both (Jaric and Radmanovic) and it is quite normal to put them on the preliminary list. Their job is to show that the decision was the right one and they can fulfill expectations in the positions and roles they'll be given."

Jaric has an opportunity to rebuild his career, both internationally and with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The guard entered the 2005 EuroBasket brimming with confidence after setting career highs of 9.9 points and 6.1 rebounds for the Los Angeles Clippers.

But the experience of the tournament seemed to rock him and he lost his starting spot with Minnesota. This season, he averaged career lows of 5.3 points and 2.1 rebounds.

Radmanovic also had a rough season. After signing a five-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers last summer, he lied about a shoulder injury suffered in February. He claimed to have slipped on ice but later confessed to snowboarding, an activity banned in his contract.

The pair will be joined by three other NBA players - 2006 World Championship holdover Darko Milicic of Orlando, New Jersey center Mile Ilic and Cleveland guard Sasha Pavlovic.

Pavlovic is yet to publicly commit to Serbia following the split with Montenegro, but Slavnic expressed confidence he would be on board. The coach also indicated he would have called on New Jersey center Nenad Krstic and New Orleans forward Peja Stojakovic had they not been injured.

There also are three NCAA players on the team led by Ivan Radenovic, who is hoping to be selected in next month's NBA draft after leaving the University of Arizona. He will be joined by UCLA's Nikola Dragovic and Brigham Young's Vuk Ivanovic.

Together, they will be charged with helping Serbia regain its place among Europe's basketball elite. Slavnic has ambitious plans to get the country's program back on track.

"I know the situation we are in, and I'm used to working under pressure," he said. "Personally, I have an ambition to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, but the Expert Council have not yet announced what our primary goals are for the EuroBasket."