Crvena Zvezda enters the new season with a completely changed team, this time designed by Dusko Ivanovic, which should be a guarantee of stability. Whether it will be enough for the EuroLeague playoffs is a difficult question.
Even before the end of the season, it was clear that Luca Vildoza and Facundo Campazzo would not continue their careers in red and white jersey, but adequate and high-quality replacements arrived instead. First of all, we are talking about Milos Teodosic. Probably Shabazz Napier is in better shape and condition, but Teodosic’s energy coming to the place of his beloved club, influenced many fans to believe more in this team.
Crvena Zvezda dreams of a great result in the EuroLeague
Crvena Zvezda’s previous season in the EuroLeague was determined by poor results in the first two months, which led to the dismissal of Vladimir Jovanovic and the appointment of Dusko Ivanovic in his place. The Montenegrin expert quickly organized the team, but in the end, the red and whites couldn’t compensate for the high number of losses in the initial seven rounds. Even though at one point Crvena Zvezda had the chance to determine its own fate, a series of defeats against objectively weaker teams (Alba Berlin, Bayern, and Panathinaikos) followed. The entire situation regarding Facundo Campazzo had a significant impact on all of this. This time, things are completely different.
Luka Mitrovic, Nemanja Nedovic, Stefan Lazarevic and Branko Lazic are the only players who remained in the team and had a role under coach Ivanovic. Shabazz Napier will be key to the team’s offense, alongside Yago dos Santos, who joins after an outstanding season in Ulm and an excellent performance for Brazil in the World Cup. The arrival of Milos Teodosic and Nemanja Bjelica was met with special emotion and these two could be a crucial part of coach Ivanovic’s puzzle. They are far from their best days, but that won’t be their intended role. They are more than capable of providing 15 excellent minutes on average, as seen in Virtus last year when the team’s offense took on a completely different shape with Teodosic on the court.
In addition to Bjelica, Crvena Zvezda has signed several players in frontcourt. Mike Tobey and Joel Bolomboy will compete for minutes at center, while Marko Simonovic is returning after two years spent in the Chicago Bulls’ system. Dejan Davidovac returned after a season at CSKA, and there is also Rokas Giedraitis, whom Ivanovic has already coached at Baskonia. His paths did not align at that club with Adam Hanga, but Ivanovic is well aware of his qualities firsthand. On paper, Crvena Zvezda has perhaps assembled the most quality team in the club’s history. The time ahead will show how it will translate on the court.
Euroleague – Crvena zvezda: Roster for the next season
Yago Mateus dos Santos /178cm/ – BRA
Shabazz Napier/183cm/ – USA
Nemanja Nedović /191cm/ – SRB
Branko Lazić /195cm/ – SRB
Miloš Teodosić /196cm/ – SRB
Stefan Lazarević /198cm/ – SRB
Adam Hanga /199cm/ – HUN
Rokas Giedraitis /201cm/ – LTV
Dejan Davidovac /202cm/ – SRB
Dalibor Ilić /202cm/ – BiH
Joel Bolomboy /203cm/ – USA
Luka Mitrović /204cm/ – SRB
Nemanja Bjelica /209cm/ – SRB
Marko Simonović /213cm/ – MNE
Mike Tobey /213cm/ – USA
Ognjen Kuzmić /213cm/ – SRB
Dolasci: Mike Tobey, Miloš Teodosić, Marko Simonović, Rokas Giedraitis, Shabazz Napier, Adam Hanga, Yago Mateus dos Santos, Dejan Davidovac, Joel Bolomboy, Nemanja Bjelica
Odlasci: Benjamin Bentil, Hassan Martin, John Holland, Luca Vildoza, Facundo Campazzo, Ognjen Dobrić, Nikola Ivanović, Stefan Marković, Miroslav Raduljica, Jaylen Adams
Euroleague – Crvena Zvezda: The greatest success in the elite competition
As already mentioned, the red and whites were regular participants in the EuroLeague in the last period, but they never managed to make a big step forward. It was also a victory over the greats, almost constant. Both on the home court and on the away court, but there was always something missing to complete the story. That little could have happened in 2016, when Crvena Zvezda could have had a “break” in Moscow in the quarter-final series, only for Stefan Jovic to get tangled up in the last offense and miss that chance.
Such a move by the Serbian playmaker was more a product of the fact that no one else wanted to take responsibility. Later, CSKA won two next games and advance to the Final Four with a maximum score of 3:0. It was a season in which Quincy Miller would play insanely well, only to later completely disappear from the radar.
When it comes to the other seasons, the Belgrade club would either be on the verge of the playoffs or not even close to it. It was as if there was no middle. It seems that it could change this time and that the ABA League runner-up could qualify for the Final Four for the first time in history.
A word more about the head coach – Dusko Ivanovic
Dusko Ivanovic was born in 1957 and is a playing legend of Buducnost and Split, with whom he won European championship titles. He has always been decorated with a work ethic, which he successfully transferred to his coaching job, as he reached the Final Four of the EuroLeague with Baskonia.
He independently managed Switzerland, Limoges, Barcelona, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Panathinaikos, Khimki, Besitkas, Baskonia and finally Crvena Zvezda. He sat on the red-white bench in the middle of last season, with a successful period with an unselected team, and now it is up to him to make Crvena Zvezda a part of the playoffs in the situation in which he decided on the team, although the club from Mali Kalemegdan is also dreaming of greater goals.
Euroleague Preview – Crvena Zvezda: Expectations
Ivanovic on the bench, and Teodosic and Napier on the floor. Nothing less than the playoffs is expected, and only the playoffs are an obligation, otherwise, the season will be considered unsuccessful, no matter how it plays out in the Cup and the ABA League. The arrival of Adam Hanga is a very important thing, first of all defensively, although he has shown that he can also be an excellent option in offense.
Rokas Giedraitis has been the best of all the red and white rookies so far. He is a real player in Ivanovic’s taste – he works in defense, in offense he moves very well without the ball and is efficient. So that Teodosic has his hands full to play him. Despite all the reinforcements, question marks remain, as it is always awkward when a large part of the squad changes. The rotation is enough to fight on two fronts, in order to maintain the intensity, but whether Crvena Zvezda has enough attacking weapons is a question.
That should be seen only with Napier in the lead role. The American missed a certain part of the preparations, the game against Igokea, and it is still uncertain how it looks when the whole team is together. What is clear is that Ivanovic had enough time to prepare the team. Now the pressure is on him. It’s not the same to move into the race for the playoffs with an unselected team and a fat deficit as it was last season and now that he had much greater powers. A challenging situation for everyone and many doubts. That is why the Belgrade club will represent one of the most interesting teams in the upcoming period.