Players and coaches interviews

[Black Urum]

Zupan Hopes To Make Mark With Slovenia


12.06.2007

Miha Zupan came oh so close to representing Slovenia at the FIBA World Championship but missed out and had to watch from home.

The 24-year-old Olimpija Ljubljana power forward may finally get his chance to put on the national team colors at this year's EuroBasket when Slovenia take on France, Italy and Poland in Group D in Alicante.

Zupan is a fine basketball player, but he's not just well known for his powerful game on the court.

Zupan has made a name for himself in Slovenia despite being born born deaf.

He's also raised a lot of eyebrows after overcoming being born deaf.

The 2.05m Zupan recently spoke to Luka Maselj on behalf of FIBA Europe.

FIBA Europe: Miha, the EuroBasket is coming up this season and you haven't really made your mark with Slovenia's national team yet.

Zupan: "I want to change that. Last year, before the World Championship, I was really close. I was among the 15 players that were selected at first, but then only 12 travelled to Japan. Too bad, but I'm not very sad about it. I am confident I will have many more chances to show my quality. I am always ready to play for the national team - if the coach (Ales Pipan) wants me, that is. I hope I can be a part of the team for this year's EuroBasket. We will see. I will surely give it my best (shot)."

FIBA Europe: Some of Slovenia's more famous players have said they are unable to play this summer, like New Jersey Nets forward Bostjan Nachbar and Charlotte Bobcats center Primoz Brezec. What do you think about their decisions?

Zupan: "I do not want to talk about the others. They have their reasons, I am sure. With me, things are different. For me participation at the EuroBasket or the World Championship would be even more important than to them. It would not only be my success, but also for all the deaf and partially deaf people in Slovenia and abroad."

FIBA Europe: In your opinion, how far can Slovenia go in Spain?

Zupan: "We play in a group together with Italy, France and Poland and surely we will not have an easy task. A lot will depends on the selection the coach will make. If most of the best Slovenian players will be available, I think we should not have a big problem making it to the next round (in Madrid). From there, anything can happen. There are a lot of things that can contribute to success or to failure. We showed the world a couple of times that we can play basketball. I hope we can prove that in Spain and make a good impact."

FIBA Europe: Who do you think are the hot favorites to win the competition?

Zupan: "The Spanish, I would say. They have a great team and they play at home. Also, the Greeks are very good and they will have a great motive with defending the victory of two years ago. But nevertheless, I would give an advantage to the Spanish, especially because of the homecourt advantage. We should all also not forget some other teams, for instance Italy. But as you have said: the championship is not here yet and many things can happen before it starts."

FIBA Europe: Miha, you began playing basketball at 14 years of age at DGN Ljubljana - a sports club in Slovenia for the hearing impaired. Then in 2000, you joined Slovenia giants Geoplin Slovan. What was that like?

Zupan: "When people saw the potential in me, I started to believe in myself. The only thing I was really scared about then was how my new teammates would welcome me among them."

FIBA Europe: Did you have any problems?

Zupan: "No, I was really lucky. Very soon I was a part of a great team. The players were good athletes and also very good people. Everybody helped me a lot - like Jaka Lakovic (Winterthur Barcelona) and Uros Slokar (Toronto Raptors). Being accepted as one of them meant a lot to me. It also helped me to communicate with the team and the coach. At first, I played without my hearing device, because there was a great risk of losing it during practice and games. But after two years, I finally found a solution. My second coach at Slovan, the first one was Tomo Mahoric, was Ivan Sunara and he advised me to wear a sweatband. With it, I could finally play with the hearing devices in my ears and that was a big step forward in my career. I started playing much better - some say from 50 to 70% better. It was much easier to communicate with others and I could follow the play much easier. For me, hearing my teammates, the coach and the referee during the game, was something new, something great."

FIBA Europe: What was the hardest part of not hearing anything on the court?

Zupan: "I did not know what action we were playing, I could not hear what the coach was talking about during the timeout. If I did not see the referee, I could not tell if he had blown his whistle or not ... Everything was much harder when I could not hear anything. I had a lot of problems following the events that occured on the court. When I could hear with my hearing devices, everything was much easier."

FIBA Europe: One of the players that helped you a lot was Slokar, who plays in the NBA. We understand you want to play there as well.

Zupan: "That is true. Playing in the NBA was my first and also my biggest wish. I am still quite young and I hope that some day, I will make it. But there is a lot of hard work in front of me if I want to go play there. I will have to go step by step. Before I can even think about a move to the NBA, I must become a regular national team player and also feature in the Euroleague."

FIBA: You are already a member of the Slovenian deaf and partially deaf national team.

Zupan: "That is true. In a lot of aspects this kind of basketball is similar to the 'regular' one. But there are also some differences. We play games without our hearing devices and we communicate only with hand gestures. We also communicate in that way with our coach. The biggest problem is following the referee's decisions as we can not hear him. It is often that we do not see that he has stopped the game. For me, it is not very easy playing without my hearing device again, but I am happy to join the team and get adjusted to it once again. But it is a shock, a big difference."

FIBA: With this National Team, you have already won the European Championship and finished second at the Special Olympics.

Zupan: "I am very proud of what we have done. The general public does not follow our results very carefully, but the deaf and partially deaf people do. Not only in Slovenia. Being first in Europe is something big."