February 08, 2012
Boban Marjanovic, Hemofarm
Boban Marjanovic - HemofarmAround the streets of Vrsac, Serbia, a very recognizable resident can be found doing two things people like to watch. One is playing basketball for Hemofarm Stada, the most famous team in the area. The other is climbing out of his sporty little car. And since he so loves his car, Hemofarm center Boban Marjanovic typically gets out of the Fiat Stilo Coupe with a smile on his face. "I have no problem getting in that little car," he jokes. "I am not so big." A gentle giant of 2.22 meters, Marjanovic is merely the tallest Eurocup player for the second year in a row. Last season, he and Hemofarm reached the Eurocup semifinals in what was a breakout season for Marjanovic. He became a full-time starter, scoring or rebounding in double figures in six out of the team's 14 games. Now 21, Marjanovic is ready to keep learning and filling the middle for Hemofarm as they aim even higher in the 2009-10 Eurocup.

Marjanovic was born in Zajecar, in eastern Serbia, but soon moved to the town of Boljevac, where he saw his first basketball game. "I remember that it was a Yugoslav League game, Partizan against FMP," Marjanovic says. "I was going to primary school and all my friends went crazy about basketball. They all started to practice in a local club, so I had no choice. I started to practice, too. The funny thing there was that we knew all our coaches by nicknames: Yogie, Froggie and Bangie."

Marjanovic was only 14 years old when scouts from Hemofarm saw him and asked him to come to Vrsac. He moved 250 kilometers to join the club and started to live alone, without parents, in his new city. He practiced basketball with the Hemofarm's juniors until the 2006-07 season, when at 18 years old he played his first minutes with the pro team. He appeared in seven games total, three of those in the ULEB Cup, but that was enough for national juniors coach Miroslav Nikolic to call him for Serbia's team at the Under-19 World Championship in Novi Sad, Serbia in the summer of 2007. Marjanovic and his Hemofarm teammate, Stefan Markovic, both won gold medals with the national team, but the star of the tournament was FMP power forward Milan Macvan. By the next seasom, Macvan had moved to Hemofarm and their magical trio - dubbed 3M for their common initial (Markovic-Marjanovic-Macvan) - was born.

"That world championship was the real thing, a real thrill," Marjanovic says now. "Nobody expected that we could beat the USA in the final game, but we did it and took gold medal. My contribution was pretty good, I averaged 8.4 points and 6.6 rebounds. We had real good team; Macvan, Markovic, Marko Keselj, Miroslav Raduljica and Mladen Jeremic were the stars. We lost to the USA 78-82 in a group game, but we beat them in final 74-69."

Boban Marjanovic - HemofarmIndeed, Marjanovic's role in the victory was important enough that he was invited to the 2008 Nike Hoop Summit for the top players in the world under 19 years old. In that game, the USA team beat the world team 98-78 and Marjanovic scored 4 points during 14 minutes.

In 2008, Marjanovic was named to the Serbian under-20 national team for the European Championships in Riga, Latvia. Again, the team won gold as Miroslav Raduljica was named MVP. Marjanovic followed that up by taking a much bigger role in Hemofarm last season than he had ever held before. In just the second game of the season, he registered a double-double of 19 points, 11 rebounds, surpassing in one game his combined numbers in the previous two seasons of ULEB Cup play. He ended up starting 11 of 14 games as Hemofarm marched to the Final Eight in Torino, Italy to play for the title. In the quarterfinal, Marjanovic was an automatic dunk early in the game as Hemofarm pulled away to an 85-93 victory over Dynamo Moscow. In the semifinal, he tied the game at 63-63 late in the fourth quarter before Hemofarm fell to eventual champ Lietuvos Rytas despite Marjanovic putting up 9 points and pulling 10 rebounds. He finished the Eurocup season ranked third in two-point shot percentage, at 71.9%, and having scored more than either player ranked ahead of him.

Over the ensuing summer, Marjanovic was called to try out for the definitive Serbian national team that was headed to EuroBasket 2009 in Poland - where it eventually finished second to Spain. Marjanovic ended up being one of coach Dusan Ivkovic's last cuts, however, and didn't play in the tournament.

"Boban is my favourite player," said Ivkovic. "I like him so much and I count on him for the future. I will ask Vlade Divac to help him." That marked the first time that the name of Divac, one of the greatest Serbian basketball legends, was mentioned about a player that many people in the country are pointing to as a possible successor. For his part, Marjanovic says: "I don’t feel comfortable in Vlade Divac's sneakers. I adore him so much, but I have to make my own way in basketball."

Boban Marjanovic - HemofarmThat way, Marjanovic makes clear, will pass through the Eurocup. Despite plenty of rumors over the summer of big teams in Europe or beyond wanting to contract him, Marjanovic decided to stay in Vrsac and learn. "There are still lot of things I have to learn in order to improve my game," he says. "First of all, on offense, I have the size, my weight is 130 kilos, and there is no need for more muscles. But I have to develop my basketball skills and quickness. The best place for that is Vrsac, and that was the reason I decided to stay at Hemofarm."

After a season in which one of the sleeping giants of pro basketball became known far and wide as a serious candidate for future greatness, Marjanovic is poised to use the 2009-10 Eurocup as his proving ground.

"I see my chance this season in the Eurocup," he says. "Hemofarm has reached the semifinals three times in that competition and we have high ambitions this season. But we are not under pressure. Our group is very strong one, with Valencia, Le Mans and Triumph. I think we can go to the second phase if we played without pressure."
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Aca Ostojic, Belgrade
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