Head coach of Split, Slaven Rimac, discussed the two biggest Serbian basketball clubs in a portion of an interview for Croatian Germanijak. In this segment, he described why their situation might not be conducive for young basketball players.
Rimac expressed skepticism about the team selection due to the high number of foreign players in both Partizan and Crvena Zvezda.
“They have entered a dimension that is very good for their sport and their fans. Partizan has 25,000 people attending their games. However, I’m not sure how beneficial it is for their players when there are five Americans on the court.
Every expensive American player takes a spot away from a domestic player. Zvezda and Partizan follow the trends of teams that are financially more stable. They have a passionate fan base and are competitive in the EuroLeague, so it’s good for their basketball. I’m not sure if it’s good for young players” – Rimac stated.
Furthermore, Coach Slaven Rimac touched upon the role of the most significant basketball agent in Europe.
“In addition, the Serbs have Misko Raznatovic, who promotes young players, has his club, and in my opinion, always makes a very good selection. He is a talent generator, even though he has a slightly different reputation here. But the question is, what would have happened to players like Ivisic, Andrija Jelavic, Karlo Matkovic, Matej Rudan if they hadn’t developed under him” – Slaven Rimac emphasized.
Split’s participation in the regional league begins at 6 PM when they host Studentski centar.