Croatia coach Aleksandar Petrovic has hailed Slovenian teen prodigy Luka Doncic as a class above everyone in his position over the last 10-15 years.
The brother of the late Drazen Petrovic saw his Croatia side grind out an 85-81 win over Slovenia in preparation for Eurobasket in two weeks but he also witnessed Doncic, a potential first round pick in next year’s NBA Draft explode for 27 points.
And at the still tender age of 18, Petrovic was amazed at the Real Madrid guard was so comfortable in a game loaded with NBA players and EuroLeague stars.
“It’s amazing to see a guy who plays like that”, said Petrovic to RTVSLO after the game.
“Seeing what Luka does on the floor during those years, I think that for a long time there was no player in Europe who was so complete, mentally and athletically. This is a class above everyone that has appeared in this position in Europe over the last ten or fifteen years. It’s true, in my honour.”
However, despite the praise, Doncic himself was critical of his performance and wasn’t happy that his side lost.
“This can’t be my best game because we lost. If you lose, a game can’t be considered good,” Doncic said.
“Scored points are not important if you don’t win. I couldn’t stop Bogdanovic who scored 23 points. He is really hard to cover because he is an excellent shooter. Still, I think that we have responded well against an opponent like Croatia. Bogdanovic and Saric are really great basketball players and we all know it.”
