Dejan Kravic is back home in London for a two-week visit and working out every day at Western
The big man from London had flown under the radar for far too long.
“I want to say I’ve been under-rated all my life,” 6-foot-11 Dejan Kravic said. “I’m an unknown. I’ve been called Canada basketball’s best-kept secret and that’s cool with me.”
That label no longer fits.
Not since last spring, anyway, when the former Westminster star rose above the dust storm, black clouds and losing surrounding the Texas Tech program and delivered a shining moment to make the folk back in Lubbock smile.
His rebound and put-back with 0.4 seconds left beat the West Virginia Mountaineers in the first round of the Big 12 tourney before 19,000 strong in Kansas City.
“Me and my teammates are watching buzzer-beater games all the time, like Butler and Gonzaga, and you think, ‘Man, imagine if we could get something like that’, and then it happened so it was crazy,” Kravic said. “It was the first time it ever happened to me.”
The next day, he poured in 20 points in a season-ending defeat to national powerhouse Kansas.
Now back home in London for a two-week visit, he’s been doing a lot of thinking while working out every day at Western.
Why not the Red Raiders back in the famous NCAA tournament next spring?
“That’s our goal this year especially, because it’s pretty even in the Big 12,” the 22-year-old said. “After Oklahoma State and Kansas, it’s pretty wide open this year. A lot of seniors left or players declared for the draft early. We came up close last year in a lot of games, but in the end, we couldn’t finish.”
This will be Kravic’s senior swan song when he heads back later this month.
He’s sure to make a great coach when he’s finished.
He is, after all, playing for his fifth boss now with famed former Kentucky coach Tubby Smith taking over the reins at Texas Tech. He started with long-timer Bob Bain at York University, transferred to Tech after his second season, was forced to sit a year under NCAA transfer rules and walked right into the middle of a Billy Gillispie soap opera.
Gillispie quit as Tech coach last year, citing health concerns but in the face of allegations he forced injured players to practise and bullied some of them too. Kravic said Gillispie was aggressive and demanding.
“It was definitely a learning experience,” Kravic said. “Billy wanted you to do well but he was really tough. He stressed working hard and being the toughest team. (Replacement Chris) Walker was more about being positive and having a good attitude. He was more the mental side of things.
“Tubby’s kind of a mix of both. Everyone’s excited. First of all, he’s a great guy. He’s cool to talk with and he asks what we want. He’s obviously proven and has won a lot of games.”
Smith has already told Kravic he wants to be one of the guys he can count on.
“I want to start, I want have a good season, get double digits and get as far as possible with our team,” he said. “If I do better, I’ll get more touches. In the end, it’s all up to me. He (Smith) has my trust and I have to earn his.”
Both have momentum on their side.
“The biggest thing, my biggest issue, is confidence,” Kravic said. “Last year, if I missed a couple of shots, my teammates and coaches already knew I was going to have a bad game. If I made a couple of shots early, they knew I was going to do well. I feel like I know the game. It’s been amazing for me to play for great coaches and with and against great players. I used to watch (Bobby) Knight School every day on TV. I never imagined eight years later, I would be playing at that same school where he coached. When I’m on the court by myself, I just look around and it’s just a blessing for me to be there.”
He already has finished his degree and is working on his Master’s in sports management. Last month, he was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches honours court for upperclassmen with a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher in 2012-13.
“My parents (Milosav and Svjetlana) really stress the importance of academics a lot,” he said. “They were both teachers back in Europe and it’s a big deal for me to do well in the classroom as well as on the court.”
On the floor, he now has NBA scouts to impress and, as a former Canadian development camper, find a way to get national men’s GM Steve Nash to take notice.
Kravic was born in Bosnia-Herzegovina so he can play nationally for Canada or Serbia. He has not been forced into a decision yet.
“Whoever calls me first,” Kravic said. “I love both countries. Everyone back in the States, they know I’m Canadian and whenever Canadians are doing well in the NCAA, I let them know where they’re from. A lot of people told me I should be (in the mix for a rising Canadian program) but they didn’t call me so I just have to work harder and be better. Hopefully, I’ll be on the Canadian or Serbian national team.
“That’s my goal.”
If he can help Smith turn the Red Raiders into something special this year, that phone will surely be buzzing for the big man taking centre stage.
DANDY DEJAN
(A look at Londoner Dejan Kravic’s basketball career)
2012-13: Averaged 9.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for Texas Tech Red Raiders as a junior in his first NCAA season. Scored in double figures 12 times and went over 20points in four games.
Before Tech: Averaged 15.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks as a sophomore at York in 2010-11. Ranked second in Canada in blocks and fifth in rebounding . . . Ontario rookie team and York’s rookie of the year in 2010 . . . Three-time top player at London Westminster high school and led Wildcats to OFSAA AA finals in 2009.
