Kravic a lesson in perseverance, perspective

Dejan Kravic, now 30, has found his stride in Europe — with or without his shot — with back-to-back league titles and a shot at a third in the COVID era.

Kravic, a Westminster Secondary School alumnus, is only the second player in league history to win two Basketball Champions League (BCL) titles. (Photo: San Pablo Burgos).

His shot is gone. Has been for some time. It’s not exactly the type of thing you expect to hear from one of the purest shooters to come out of the Forest City.

But somewhere over the years, between university and the pros, despite the fixes and futzes of coaches and shot gurus, Dejan Kravic lost it – and he’s been searching for it ever since.

“Everybody tried to change my shot to the point where my form got disgusting,” he says. “Horrible. It got to the point where I would catch the ball outside and I wouldn’t even look at the basket. I haven’t really shot much since.”

The San Pablo Burgos center has tried everything – everything – even training himself to switch shooting hands completely in recent years, a move akin to deciding to sign your name exclusively with the opposite hand and expecting the world to be able to read it.

But for Kravic, this is nothing more than just another challenge for a player who possesses what coaches describe as a rare combination of a winning mentality and warrior spirit that enables him to persevere through any challenge – be it lost shots, global pandemics, or missing a family half a world away.

*   *   *

In high school, all Dejan Kravic did was shoot.

6 feet 8 inches.

210 pounds.

And 15 feet or more from the hoop.

To Kravic, the paint was hot lava.

“People made fun of me because all I did was shoot threes,” said the Westminster Secondary School alumnus.

Part of that was a kid still getting used to his body after growing “out of nowhere” in high school. In Grade 9, he was 5-foot-9 and loved playing the wing. He was a great shooter. And shooters shoot.

Even during his first two years at York University, the now 7-footer preferred the outside – with some mid-rangers thrown in. He averaged 15.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game for the Lions.

At Texas Tech, however, NCAA coaches saw nothing but size. Playing a game stuck somewhat in a ‘big man’ mindset of a previous era, the team looked to move Kravic closer to the rim.

Before embarking on a career in Europe, Kravic played for the York University Lions in Toronto and Texas Tech in the NCAA. (Photo: Virtus Segafredo Bologna).

“They wanted me to be like Shaq. That was really not me. They were bulking me up. They knew I could shoot, and I would shoot the midrange here and there, but they wanted me to be this strong guy inside. So, I started to play like that a little bit. But I still had that shot.”

His natural shooting form was consistent, deadly accurate and, admittedly, “weird.” It was the kind of shot so-called shot gurus love to ‘fix.’ As he continued through university, and then into the pros, coaches tinkered – and rarely for the better.

“They kept saying that weird wasn’t good for me. Yes, it was a weird form, unorthodox, for sure. People just wanted it to be different,” Kravic said. “I’m a nice, quiet, shy guy and I just went along with it. ‘Sure, I’ll try that.’ Then it got to the point where the muscle memory was gone.”

Every day, it would be a different shot style. He couldn’t find consistency, rhythm, or even the basket. He was lost and had no idea why. His elbow would splay out. He would push with his guide hand. Even the feel of the ball was foreign.

“What has happened to your shot? You were a shooter,” his teammates asked.

They were right. Go to his high school highlights. It’s lights out. Now – nothing outside. When he gets the ball 10 feet out today, he rarely looks toward the basket. It is a frustrating fate for a pure shooter.

“Honestly, it’s something that haunts me to this day. I know if I had my shot, I would be at either the highest level in Europe or in the NBA. I felt like I had everything except that shot. But you need that shot, especially in today’s game when all five players on the court can shoot. I was a big man who could shoot when nobody else was. Seems I got the years mixed up …”

A natural righty, Kravic shot with his left when a situation called for it, usually a hook around the basket. Two summers ago, however, in desperate need to find his shot – any shot – he went all-in and changed hands. He started shooting exclusively with his left.

“It was high risk, high reward,” he said.

At first, it was for fun. Then, after coaches and players took notice of his form in practice, he rolled it out a bit in games. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and he didn’t shoot for six months.

“It was good until COVID, and then I lost the muscle memory on that one, too,” he said. “Now, it’s kind of like the same thing all over again. It’s brutal.

But, after an upcoming offseason of practice, the lefty might be back.

“I don’t have anything to lose – literally. I have maybe five or 10 more years of my career, so I might as well try it out,” he said. “If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work and it doesn’t matter. I don’t shoot anyway. It is what it is. Just craziness.”

*   *   *

Forget the shot. Kravic is in a good place. The Bosnian-born, London-raised hoopster is in his seventh season overseas and “fourth good year in a row” after starting out his career going from lower-level team to lower-level team.

When he arrived in Europe, in 2014, he struggled with the Rethymno (Greece) Cretan Kings and landed outside the starting lineup. That was a first. He then played for near minimum wage with Den Bosch (Netherlands). After an injury, he requested his release. After a second tour with the Cretan Kings., he played the worst ball of his life for Brussels in Belgium and was cut. Another first.

But when he returned to Greece, with Panionios BC, he played well enough to hook up with Virtus Segafredo Bologna in Italy. That’s where he caught his stride.

Kravic, far right, celebrates with his Virtus Segafredo Bologna teammates in 2019 after winning his first Basketball Champions League (BCL) title. (Photo: Virtus Segafredo Bologna).

Kravic won his first Basketball Champions League (BCL) title with Virtus Segafredo Bologna in 2019, then followed that with a BCL title with San Pablo Burgos in 2020. He’s just the second player in league history to win two titles.

Last fall, Kravic was named to the Serbian national team’s preliminary 20-player roster for the 2022 EuroBasket Qualifiers.

There have been plenty of bumps along the way, but he says they’ve shaped the player he is today.

“I still have the same chip on my shoulder, and I have no plans in slowing down,” Kravic wrote of his career last year. “For some, success comes immediately. For me, I took a longer route to get there. I now have a newborn son, a beautiful wife, and the best family one can ask for. I feel more mentally tough than ever, and I have all the motivation in the world. Nothing and nobody will take me down now.”

He takes as much pride in his perseverance as he does in his titles – and he needed every ounce of it this year as he combatted COVID-19 on the way to another possible title run.

*   *   *

When it came to negative COVID tests, Kravic was 53 for 53 this season.

“Then No. 54 got me,” he said, only days after returning to game action last week.

San Pablo had been ravaged by COVID at various points this season, with seven members of the squad testing positive in November, and another five, including Kravic, in recent weeks. The latest outbreak stemmed from an opponent who kept playing in a game despite coming down with symptoms at halftime.

Every few days after contact, another teammate would fall ill. Then it was Kravic’s turn.

Even for an elite athlete in his prime, the disease took him down.

“It hit me. Hard,” he said. “At first, it was like having bronchitis. I was coughing during the game. This happens to me from time to time, when it’s cold in the gym and you feel it in your lungs once you go up and down the court a few times. But this was different. I told the team it was happening, got tested, and it was positive.”

He had no temperature, but the disease progressed from coughing, to sapping his energy, to a headache and muscle aches. He maintained taste but had no smell. After six or seven days, he started getting back to normal. Slowly.

He was out 12 days total, but only missed one game because of a cancelation. Such is playing in a pandemic. He started working out solo for a couple of days to catch up. His first game back he played only seven minutes. He wasn’t even sure he’d make it that long.

“I thought I wasn’t going to play at all,” he said. “I was surprised. I only practiced once the night before. I wanna say I felt good. But it was weird.”

Masks remain mandatory throughout many parts of Europe. In the league (Liga ACB, the top pro division in Spain), testing is regimented – once before the game and once after. If you contract the disease, the blood tests every couple of days kick in to check for antibodies.

Despite the aggressive protocols, it wasn’t the safest environment for a family.

Kravic’s wife and newborn son came back to Canada in the fall, as COVID started taking out players in the league. The couple thought it would be safer for their boy. They were correct, but making the right decision hasn’t made it easier for the new dad with a now 11-month-old back in London.

“It’s been brutal,” Kravic said. “It’s been five months so far. He’s so young and doing something new every day and I’m missing it. It obviously sucks. It’s also tough on my wife because she’s basically doing everything over there and then I’m without him over here. But it’s the best for the kid. He’s enjoying life and that’s the most important thing.”

*   *   *

Despite jokes about his age, the 30-year-old is far from done – even though some games he feels the clock. “Once I hit 30 in September, I wasn’t moving the same. Last year, I’m dunking everything, and then once 30 hit I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m just going to lay this up,’” he laughed.

But his league rewards age and experience – perhaps more than North American professional leagues. Kravic is far from the oldest on his squad, one that boasts a 39-year-old backup point guard, a 35-year-old starting shooting guard, and a 33-year-old shooting guard.

Kravic helped San Pablo Burgos advance to the BCL Final Eight again this year, as the club looks to win back-to-back titles. (Photo: San Pablo Burgos).

“They’re playing at a high level also,” he says. “It’s a veteran group.”

Kravic likes his fit on this team, maybe more so than at any point in his career.

“I’m still continuing to improve. It all really depends on the fit of the team and what is needed of me. Last year, I was also in the Spanish League on one of a not-as-good team as this one. I did whatever ­– drive the ball, post, pick and roll, run the floor, basically everything except shoot.

“This year, we have a lot of playmakers. For me, my role has been a lot easier – pick and rolls, finishing at the rim, short rolls. Our main stuff is that they pass to me on the short roll and the coach tells me either to attack by myself or I make like the point guard at the free throw line and make passes to our shooters or to the cutters.”

Kravic talks of playing another decade, but the 10-month European seasons tend to wear him down. Maybe five more years, if you ask again. Being a new dad has rearranged the priorities. He would love to finish up his career at home, maybe play out the last year or two with the London Lightning in front of family and friends.

“Maybe while I am still young enough to play well. I would hate for everyone to see me all slow, and wonder what the fuss has been about all these years,” he laughed.

Last week, the San Pablo Burgos advanced to the BCL Final Eight.

Despite the excitement of a couple of playoff runs with his team, he is eager for the offseason and a reunion with his family in London.

“I’m ready to be home. We won’t be leaving the country this summer, or even the city. I might not leave the house, honestly.”