Bruno
11-13-2006, 12:23 PM
It's from hoopsworld but there aren't any trade rumor in it. :)
http://www.hoopsworld.com/global/article_19378.shtml
GLOBAL: Beno Udrih
By Nikola Olic
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Nov 10, 2006, 11:37
Beno Udrih has this thing he does before a game. The Slovenian guard stands at the three point line and plays a game with any willing Spur. He taps his ball against the opponent's, and then they both quickly launch a three. If you sit close enough, you can see why Beno usually wins: shooting arm bent perfectly at 90 degrees, non-shooting arm just slightly touching the side of the ball. Win or lose, Beno is looking forward to the next game, just like in real life.
Slovenia is a small, picturesque country in northern Europe, better known for its mountains than its NBA players. Yet there are six of them in the NBA, a surprising number for a country that has as many people as Houston, just over 2 million. While recently watching Beno Udrih from the sidelines, David Stern did the math himself -- that is the most NBA players per-capita of any country in the world: one NBA player for every 350,000 Slovenians. Sounds like lottery, but has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with hard work.
"I started out in Slovenia's second division but really started playing only when I got into the first division, where I won the Rookie of the Year award. I had a chance to change teams and I only considered our best team, Olimpia. In my first year, I was the backup point guard but I had more minutes than the starting point guard. When he left, it was finally my turn. So my career really started with Olimpia. They thought I would leave for the NBA in a year or two."
That happened a few years later. His agent's unfamiliarity with the NBA was a blessing in disguise. Beno stayed in Europe a few more years and gained valuable Euroleague experience. Among Europe's best, Udrih played 25 minutes per game in a league that one day might share some of it's teams with the NBA, as was temporarily the case this summer with Europe Live. After a few years in Israel, Russia and Italy and finally with a new agent, it was time for Beno's dreams to come true.
"Every kid dreams of playing in the NBA. I came for the pre-draft and my agent told me to just be myself. It made it easy for him and I both and I did not have to think about it any more. I went out there and played with confidence and everything went great. Many players would not play their game, dribble the ball or shoot the three. I was just doing what I know. When I was alone I would shoot. Otherwise I would make something happen for my teammates. I was happy with 15 points and 6 assists per game. I was not forcing anything, taking it step by step."
First step towards getting into the NBA is the same for every kid in every country in the world: you have to be better than those around you. Beno started with his ball handling skills outside of basketball. It was handball, a very popular sport in Europe, that gave Beno his first advantage, and it was his height that gave him the second.
"It was with my first team when I was 15. In a month, I grew three inches yet my game went down. I was not used to being taller, I could not dribble or hold the ball. I talked to one of my coaches and told him I didn't know what was happening with me. I practiced three times a day, from four in the afternoon until eleven at night. I became better than the players around me and I decided to go for it and make basketball my life."
In his house in Celje, a small town in northwest Slovenia, Beno saw a poster of Michael Jordan long before he ever knew who the skinny Chicago Bull was. Years later, Beno learned about the most influential basketball player of all time, and about the single skill that got him on his older brother's poster -- confidence. Many basketball players can make an 18 footer, but doing it in closing seconds of the '82 NCAA finals puts you on a poster half way across the world.
"When I was 16 I averaged 35 points and we were winning by a big margin. I was with my junior team but I did not have to play, I was already playing with the senior team. Only if it were close in the 4th quarter would I be brought in to help out. That is where my confidence started growing. I was having a great time in practice, it was always fun and my confidence was growing every day."
But the agent that ultimately got Beno into the NBA was not at first very optimistic. "Bottom of the second round at best", he said, "or maybe you won't be drafted at all". This was before Beno's impressive summer performance. He was so dominant that he just needed to play two games before the Spurs made up their minds. He was selected in the first round, as the 28th pick. Since then he had given the Spurs about six points, two assists in 13 minutes of play. And he also helped them win a championship ring.
"The team is great, the teammates are great, the situation is great. I can't wait to help bring our championship trophy back to San Antonio. They recently took care of my contract, I am very happy about that. I am ready to play, I had an injury before the start of the season and I did not want to come back half way. Coach Popovich said some things about me being the fourth guard in the rotation, but I know how I feel and only when I feel ok can I play. I don't let it get to me. I don't want to get injured again. You are your own best doctor and you have to care about your body. I make a living with my body."
Beno was drawn to the American style of living even before he made it to America. "They call Israel Little America" Beno explains of a country he lived in for a year. He remembers people always out on the streets, socializing and having a good time. Beno replaced the calm and quiet of Slovenia and enjoyed all of Europe for its basketball and its lifestyle. When the NBA opportunity came, he was again ready. He knew only one thing about San Antonio, the same thing every school kid knows: The Alamo.
"No matter where I play, I would live in San Antonio, I won't go anywhere else. San Antonio has a lot of people, because of the Riverwalk. The weather is great and the people are great. I will keep my house here and maybe get an apartment somewhere else. I like it here. Nothing draws me back to Slovenia, except my family. Their mentality no longer fits me. It is more exciting here. People are more open. Everybody will come up and talk to you: men, women or children. In Slovenia, people watch from a far and do nothing. Same if you approach them. They look at you as a star, they think you are not approachable."
Unlike in his early day, the Spurs' backup guard does not get more minutes than the starter. Beno was a promising rookie which in his second year shared minutes with Nick Van Excel, an experienced veteran with guts for making big plays. Experience trumped potential and Beno saw decreased playing time. But during the summer, Udrih was a member of the Slovenian National team that competed at the World Basketball Championships in Japan. On the national team, Udrih is a starter. This season with the Spurs, he wants to go in the same direction.
"Last two weeks I have been practicing more. I know all our plays and I have no problems. I know what I should do on the floor. I feel much better than last year. I can only play my game and prove to everybody that I am the backup point. I don't worry about my competition at all."
Udrih is aiming at the backup point guard position and nothing more - at least for now.
"Parker and I have that European mentality. He feels pressure when he sees me. We played against each other as juniors in Europe. I once torched him for 35 points. If I had been traded to some other team, I could have maybe started. But I wanted to stay here. I am still in the proving phase of my basketball career. If I can play here, I can play anywhere."
Before a game, Beno takes up all of his NBA-allotted 45 minutes on the floor. He shoots a few free throws and a few three pointers, chats with his teammates and then finally slowly walks of the court and into the locker room. Of all the basketball influences in his life, it was the basketball court itself that he really could not resist. In his hometown of Celje, he lived "just a few trees away" from a basketball court. He would try to do his homework, but the sound of a ball bouncing in the distance was just too much. Maybe that's why he likes that pre-game game so much.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/global/article_19378.shtml
GLOBAL: Beno Udrih
By Nikola Olic
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Nov 10, 2006, 11:37
Beno Udrih has this thing he does before a game. The Slovenian guard stands at the three point line and plays a game with any willing Spur. He taps his ball against the opponent's, and then they both quickly launch a three. If you sit close enough, you can see why Beno usually wins: shooting arm bent perfectly at 90 degrees, non-shooting arm just slightly touching the side of the ball. Win or lose, Beno is looking forward to the next game, just like in real life.
Slovenia is a small, picturesque country in northern Europe, better known for its mountains than its NBA players. Yet there are six of them in the NBA, a surprising number for a country that has as many people as Houston, just over 2 million. While recently watching Beno Udrih from the sidelines, David Stern did the math himself -- that is the most NBA players per-capita of any country in the world: one NBA player for every 350,000 Slovenians. Sounds like lottery, but has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with hard work.
"I started out in Slovenia's second division but really started playing only when I got into the first division, where I won the Rookie of the Year award. I had a chance to change teams and I only considered our best team, Olimpia. In my first year, I was the backup point guard but I had more minutes than the starting point guard. When he left, it was finally my turn. So my career really started with Olimpia. They thought I would leave for the NBA in a year or two."
That happened a few years later. His agent's unfamiliarity with the NBA was a blessing in disguise. Beno stayed in Europe a few more years and gained valuable Euroleague experience. Among Europe's best, Udrih played 25 minutes per game in a league that one day might share some of it's teams with the NBA, as was temporarily the case this summer with Europe Live. After a few years in Israel, Russia and Italy and finally with a new agent, it was time for Beno's dreams to come true.
"Every kid dreams of playing in the NBA. I came for the pre-draft and my agent told me to just be myself. It made it easy for him and I both and I did not have to think about it any more. I went out there and played with confidence and everything went great. Many players would not play their game, dribble the ball or shoot the three. I was just doing what I know. When I was alone I would shoot. Otherwise I would make something happen for my teammates. I was happy with 15 points and 6 assists per game. I was not forcing anything, taking it step by step."
First step towards getting into the NBA is the same for every kid in every country in the world: you have to be better than those around you. Beno started with his ball handling skills outside of basketball. It was handball, a very popular sport in Europe, that gave Beno his first advantage, and it was his height that gave him the second.
"It was with my first team when I was 15. In a month, I grew three inches yet my game went down. I was not used to being taller, I could not dribble or hold the ball. I talked to one of my coaches and told him I didn't know what was happening with me. I practiced three times a day, from four in the afternoon until eleven at night. I became better than the players around me and I decided to go for it and make basketball my life."
In his house in Celje, a small town in northwest Slovenia, Beno saw a poster of Michael Jordan long before he ever knew who the skinny Chicago Bull was. Years later, Beno learned about the most influential basketball player of all time, and about the single skill that got him on his older brother's poster -- confidence. Many basketball players can make an 18 footer, but doing it in closing seconds of the '82 NCAA finals puts you on a poster half way across the world.
"When I was 16 I averaged 35 points and we were winning by a big margin. I was with my junior team but I did not have to play, I was already playing with the senior team. Only if it were close in the 4th quarter would I be brought in to help out. That is where my confidence started growing. I was having a great time in practice, it was always fun and my confidence was growing every day."
But the agent that ultimately got Beno into the NBA was not at first very optimistic. "Bottom of the second round at best", he said, "or maybe you won't be drafted at all". This was before Beno's impressive summer performance. He was so dominant that he just needed to play two games before the Spurs made up their minds. He was selected in the first round, as the 28th pick. Since then he had given the Spurs about six points, two assists in 13 minutes of play. And he also helped them win a championship ring.
"The team is great, the teammates are great, the situation is great. I can't wait to help bring our championship trophy back to San Antonio. They recently took care of my contract, I am very happy about that. I am ready to play, I had an injury before the start of the season and I did not want to come back half way. Coach Popovich said some things about me being the fourth guard in the rotation, but I know how I feel and only when I feel ok can I play. I don't let it get to me. I don't want to get injured again. You are your own best doctor and you have to care about your body. I make a living with my body."
Beno was drawn to the American style of living even before he made it to America. "They call Israel Little America" Beno explains of a country he lived in for a year. He remembers people always out on the streets, socializing and having a good time. Beno replaced the calm and quiet of Slovenia and enjoyed all of Europe for its basketball and its lifestyle. When the NBA opportunity came, he was again ready. He knew only one thing about San Antonio, the same thing every school kid knows: The Alamo.
"No matter where I play, I would live in San Antonio, I won't go anywhere else. San Antonio has a lot of people, because of the Riverwalk. The weather is great and the people are great. I will keep my house here and maybe get an apartment somewhere else. I like it here. Nothing draws me back to Slovenia, except my family. Their mentality no longer fits me. It is more exciting here. People are more open. Everybody will come up and talk to you: men, women or children. In Slovenia, people watch from a far and do nothing. Same if you approach them. They look at you as a star, they think you are not approachable."
Unlike in his early day, the Spurs' backup guard does not get more minutes than the starter. Beno was a promising rookie which in his second year shared minutes with Nick Van Excel, an experienced veteran with guts for making big plays. Experience trumped potential and Beno saw decreased playing time. But during the summer, Udrih was a member of the Slovenian National team that competed at the World Basketball Championships in Japan. On the national team, Udrih is a starter. This season with the Spurs, he wants to go in the same direction.
"Last two weeks I have been practicing more. I know all our plays and I have no problems. I know what I should do on the floor. I feel much better than last year. I can only play my game and prove to everybody that I am the backup point. I don't worry about my competition at all."
Udrih is aiming at the backup point guard position and nothing more - at least for now.
"Parker and I have that European mentality. He feels pressure when he sees me. We played against each other as juniors in Europe. I once torched him for 35 points. If I had been traded to some other team, I could have maybe started. But I wanted to stay here. I am still in the proving phase of my basketball career. If I can play here, I can play anywhere."
Before a game, Beno takes up all of his NBA-allotted 45 minutes on the floor. He shoots a few free throws and a few three pointers, chats with his teammates and then finally slowly walks of the court and into the locker room. Of all the basketball influences in his life, it was the basketball court itself that he really could not resist. In his hometown of Celje, he lived "just a few trees away" from a basketball court. He would try to do his homework, but the sound of a ball bouncing in the distance was just too much. Maybe that's why he likes that pre-game game so much.