ZAGREB (FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018) - When Matej Rudan was 6 years old he wanted to play waterpolo. But then commonsense in the Rudan household prevailed and he turned to basketball - and that switch has led him to being one of the leaders for Croatia going into the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018.

Rudan seemed pre-destined to play basketball. Just look at his family.

His mother Gordana Cato helped KK Split to a number of national championships in the 1990s. Father Joski Rudan played domestically while cousin Teo Cizmic played for KK Split's wildly successfully generation with Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja and Velimir Perasovic. And Cizmic's son Leo is playing now, having represented Croatia at three youth European Championships. 

"They helped me a lot because they have a lot of games in their legs, so I was always taking their advice because they know so much more about basketball than I know," Rudan said.

And what about waterpolo?

"My parents sent me to one basketball practice and I fell in love with basketball," Rudan recalled.

"After that I always wanted to play professional basketball and I just practiced a lot and I was focused on improving my game." 

Rudan had already been building up a name for himself before last summer, when he guided Croatia to a fourth place finish at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2017 to qualify for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018. But that led to German powerhouse club Bayern Munich signing the 6ft 7in (2.00m) forward to a long-term deal. 

"The style of living is way more different than in Croatia and professionally it is on a higher level," said Rudan, who played at Cedevita before the move.

Rudan believes the experience abroad has also helped him become a better leader - something the Croatians will need in Rosario and Santa Fe, where they drawn into Group D along with European U16 champions France, hosts Argentina and Philippines.

Croatia were one of the youngest teams at the U16 European Championship with three players born in 2002, making the a year younger than the rest of the competition. While Ivan Perasovic and Matej Bosnjak are both expected to play in Argentina, Boris Tisma will not be there. In his place will be Roko Prkacin, who might be one of the top 2002-born players in the country.

"If they continue to work like this they can go far," Rudan said of his younger compatriots. "They have a great work ethic." 

And the U16 continental competition was a major learning experience for the team.

"The team learned that we must stay together and that you must be happy if you play 40 minutes or one minute," said Rudan, who averaged 17.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists in earning a spot on the All-Star Five. "All 12 players must be happy with a win. And when the team is together on the same page nobody can stop you."

Last summer Rudan and the Croatians were a model of opportunism. After losing all three of the group stage games, Croatia knocked off Slovenia in the Round of 16 and then beat Latvia in the Quarter-Finals to reach the Semi-Finals - and booking their U17 World Cup ticket. Croatia lost their final two games to finish fourth with a 2-5 record. But the minimum goal had been achieved - getting Croatia back to the first U17 World Cup since 2012, when they finished third.

"ALL 12 PLAYERS MUST BE HAPPY WITH A WIN. AND WHEN THE TEAM IS TOGETHER ON THE SAME PAGE NOBODY CAN STOP YOU."Rudan

"It's very important to be at the U17 World Cup because Croatia is a basketball country and we are trying to be the best we can in the game," Rudan said.

As far as his role in Argentina, Rudan said: "I want to be the leader of the team like I was in Podgorica. Maybe I will be playing more small forward because we have more big players now. But I will try to help the team as much as I can."

It's hard to believe that Rudan one time was set on playing waterpolo. But that is a long time ago.

FIBA