Teodosic, 'The best point guard in Europe'
MOSCOW (Euroleague) - Less than two months have passed since Milos Teodosic walked to the center of the court in Madrid and received his Tissot watch as a member of the All-Star Five at the FIBA Basketball
MOSCOW (Euroleague) - Less than two months have passed since Milos Teodosic walked to the center of the court in Madrid and received his Tissot watch as a member of the All-Star Five at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
It marked the second straight time at the event, in fact, that Teodosic had earned a place on the all-tournament team, and just as the case had been in Turkey four years ago, he was worthy of selection.
The 1.95m point guard had engineered a famous run to the title game with 23 points in a Quarter-Final triumph over Brazil and 24 in a Semi-Final victory over France, a two-game stretch in which he made eight of 12 shots from the arc, hit 14 of 21 shots from the floor overall and sunk 11 of 12 free-throws.
He averaged 13.6ppg, 4.4apg and 2.1rpg in the tournament.
One could not help but recall his performances at the World Cup when watching the CSKA Moscow playmaker tear apart Unicaja Malaga in the Week Four clash in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague, a battle of unbeatens.
Teodosic had 27 points against Unicaja on 11 of 17 shooting, including five of six from behind the arc.
He was unstoppable, punishing Unicaja when left open from long range, and confusing them when he attacked the basket off the dribble.
At times in Teodosic's career, his temperament got him into trouble.
He is in control now, though.
Teodosic is playing for CSKA like a mature 27-year-old.
What was it that his national team coach, Sasha Djordjevic, said about Teodosic after they qualified for the World Cup Final?
He called him "an MVP of this competition" and explained that Teodosic's experience in the high-level tournaments had been the key for Serbia.
"I've tried to explain to him that importance of the other part of being Milos Teodosic," Djordjevic had said.
"Not only the player, but also the person that we all need and look up to.
"A leader has to be positive, stay positive to be what he really is right now."
The Teodosic that played at the World Cup is now the Teodosic that everyone is seeing with CSKA.
He said in a recent interview with the VTB website: "I think that I grew as a player over those few weeks (with Serbia). I got invaluable experience."
Teodosic is playing so well that opponents expect him to a dazzle on a weekly basis.
Joan Plaza, the Unicaja coach, certainly did after CSKA's 95-85 win.
"It is not necessary to say that Teodosic was having a great night," he said.
"I was expecting this kind of performance from the best point guard in Europe."
FIBA