SRB - Slavnic calls on Gurovic to lead Serbia

BELGRADE (EuroBasket 2007) - When Americans think about Serbian basketball, they envision NBA players past and present.

Vlade Divac had a long career in the United States with the Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets and Sacramento Kings, and others like Peja Stojakovic of New Orleans and New Jersey's Nenad Krstic are big contributors to their respective teams, now.

People in Indianapolis may remember Milan Gurovic as well, a player who tore apart Team USA's underachieving NBA stars in the quarter-finals at the 2002 FIBA World Championship.

Gurovic buried four of six from three-point range that day as Yugoslavia won 81-78. They eventually won the gold medal.

In the five years since, Gurovic has become arguably the most controversial player in the Balkans.

And on Monday, Serbia coach Zoran Slavnic not only called him back into the national team, but made him captain.

"To be a captain of first Serbian national team is really a huge honor," Gurovic said.

Gurovic is adored by one half of Serbian basketball and loathed by the other half.

He went from hero to pariah at his former club Partizan when he signed for Belgrade rivals Red Star, his current team.

When those two teams play, as they just did in the Serbian domestic league playoff finals, Gurovic is barracked from the time he enters the arena to the time he leaves.

It was so bad in one game this year that after Gurovic had been ejected, he hurled a plastic bottle at Partizan fans.

The building he resides in in Belgrade is painted with horrific graffiti.

After Partizan's 3-1 series victory, a series in which Gurovic managed to keep his cool, he didn't want to even think about basketball.

"I'm too tired," he said. "Youngsters should take the helm of the new squad."

By Monday, he had taken a 180-degree turn.

"I know what I've been saying these days, but you have to understand me, it wasn't easy for me after all those things happened during championship finals series," he said.

"As time passed, I realized I was born in this country, and that my national pride I should transform into performances at the court. That's the reason I've decided to wear the Serbian jersey."

Gurovic has been in the spotlight before because of a tatoo on his shoulder of former Serbian World War II general, Draza Miralovic.

The tatoo is offensive to many Croatians who considered him to be an ultra Serbian nationalist, and Gurovic, who was playing for Partizan at the time in November 2004, was banned from entering the country even though his team had a basketball game there.

At the time, Gurovic, who always kisses the tatoo when he makes a three-pointer, argued: "He was a Serbia patriot. People don't know anything about him. That's as if I was speaking about Che Guevara without knowing anything about Che."

Since that decision by the Croatian government, Gurovic has not played in the country.

If Slavnic was looking to light a fire under a national team, he believes he's done it.

"He is playing for his people," Slavnic said. "For his country. That's the most important thing.

"He's prepared, and will be there. And, sincerely, I expect a lot from Gurovic in Spain."

Jeff Taylor
FIBA