Primoz Brezec, Slovenia | Player Profiles by Interbasket (original) (raw)

InterBasket > Player Profiles > Primoz Brezec, Slovenia ****From Nba.com: Member of the Slovenian 22-and-under National silver medal team at the 1998 European Championships....At the 1998 European Championships, he was selected to the All-Star team....Played in the 1998-99, 1999-00, and 2000-01 Slovenian All-Star Game....He has won the 1998-99, 1999-00 and 2000-01 Slovenian National Cup and the 1998-99 and 2000-01 Slovenian Championship....During the 2001 Shaw's Pro Summer League in Boston, Brezec played in six games and averaged 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.83 blocks and 21.3 minutes per game....Scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Milwaukee in the first game of the summer league....In 34 games in league and pool play for B.C. Olimpija Ljubljana of Slovenia, he averaged 10.6 ppg on 74.0 percent from the field (145-196) and 4.5 rpg....In 1999-2000 averaged 7.7 ppg and 4.1 rpg in 52 games during league and pool play for Olimpija Ljubljana....In 1998-99 in league and pool play for Olimpija Ljubljana, he averaged 4.5 ppg on 77.8 percent FGs in 26 games. Wife, Nada, is expecting first child in December 2004.

Primo� Bre�eć Profile

Name: Primoz Brezec (Pree-mo Bray-zetch)
Nickname: Breza
Born: October 10, 1979
Status: Active
Origin: Postojna, Slovenia
Height: 7-1/2,16m
Weight: 255lbs./116,1kg
Schools: N/A
Drafted: 2000, first round, 27th pick overall, by the Indiana Pacers. Picked up in the 2004 expansion draft by the Charlotte Bobcats
Languages: English, Slovenian
Website: InterBasket
Teams (jersey): Slovenian National Team, Olimpija Ljubljana, Indiana Pacers (27), Charlotte Bobcats (7)
FromFibaEurope: The most successful European center in the NBA. No more, no less. But it took time to happen� Primoz Brezec is last year's European success story in the NBA. The Slovenian giant posted 13 points and 7.4 rebounds for Charlotte, which earned him fourth place in the vote for NBA Most Improved Player. Brezec's numbers are far from impressive at first glance, so what's the big fuss about? Well, one has to consider that his average in the previous three seasons combined was a pitiful 1.8 point and 1,0 rebound per game. Primoz played the best season of his career and is determined not to stop there. "I consider last season my rookie year, since I finally got the chance to play" Brezec says. He's got a point: from 2001 to 04, the Pacers barely used him � 5.4 minutes per game. Charlotte gave him half an hour every night, and the Slovenian big man responded. Primoz was drafted by Indiana in 2000, as the 27th pick overall, but the Pacers sent him back for the 2000-01 campaign to his native Slovenia to sharpen up his skills. He came back to the States, but didn't enjoy the status he was hoping for. Who cares if he's a late boomer? The say that centers mature later than others; Primoz hopes to continue to improve his skills and to enjoy the next ten years as one of the prime centers in the NBA. If he follows last year's rate of improvement, the sky is the limit. As for EuroBasket, Brezec will compete with Nesterovic for a place in the Slovenian starting five. A tough job, but whoever ends-up being the starting center, it will be for the common good.