Croatian Scouting Report
Team Croatia is riding high right now, not having tasted defeat in quite awhile. In the qualifier, they went undefeated, beating Cameroon (by 14), Puerto Rico (by 14), Canada (by 21), Germany (by 6), and in the Olympics, Australia (by 15), and Russia (by 7).
Croatia fits the definition of an outstanding TEAM, relying on balanced contributions from all over the court and all-around excellent shooting. Croatia also plays a rugged physical game, shooting a high number of free throws, and committing a high number of fouls.
They are playing relaxed and confident. "We have no pressure after the qualifying tournament in Athens," PG Zoran Planinic said after beating Russia yesterday. "We said to ourselves we are going to the Olympics to play tough and we are going to leave everything on the court. We are not scared of anybody and I don't know what our limits are."
Marco Thomas, 6'7 SG/SF, keys Croatia's scoring attack. He shot a scalding 79% inside the arc and 58% beyond during the qualifier, and has stayed hot in the Olympics, hitting 83% of his 3's. Thomas led them in both minutes and points in the qualifier, and is currently third in points and minutes in the Olympics.
Marco Popovic , 6'1 PG is a key element of their success, leading the team in assists while coming in second in points and minutes played. Popovic is a 3-point specialist, launching the supermajority of his shots from beyond the arc and leading his squad in 3 point attempts, but also plays an aggressive offensive game, leading his team in trips to the FT line, where he shoots 81%.
Zoran PLANINIC, 6'6 PG can also be at threat in the backcourt, shooting 78% inside the arc in the qualifying tourney, and leading the team in scoring in the Olympic games so far, drilling 80% of all his shots (2's, 3's, and FTs).
Nikola PRKACIN, 6'10 243# C, is a primary inside threat for the Croats. 4th on the team in scoring, Prkacin shoots above 50% from the field (shooting all 2's) and over 80% FT's.
Roko-Leni UKIC, 6'5 PG, picked up solid minutes at the guard position, leading the team in steals, while coming 2nd on the team in rebounding and assists.
Kresimir LONCAR, 6'11 C, is holding down the Croat middle, leading the team in rebounds in the Olympics.
Marko BANIC, 6'8 PF, adds the inside scoring punch for the Croats. Third in team scoring in the qualifier, Banic shot an amazing 93% inside the arc, where he took all his shots, and shot a very respectable 79% from the line. In the Olympic games so far, he has continued his precise shooting, hitting 79% from the field.
Sandro NICEVIC, 6'11 F, logged significant minutes backing up the front line, leading the team in rebounds and blocked shots while shooting 50%, all on 2-point attempts in the qualifier, although his minutes have been limited so far in the Olympics.
Davor KUS 6'3 PG/SG adds another threat from the Croatian backcourt. Tied with Popovic for second most minutes, Kus was fifth on the team in scoring. He prefer to shoot the 3, but he also got to the FT line quite a bit, second most on the team.
