Ask any coach what a young player needs to develop, and he will answer: “playing time.” Readiness to open the floor to skinny teenagers in order to gradually turn them into match winners used to be one of defining features of ex-Yu ball. Coaches were not advised only by their instinct. The talent pool was wider and deeper. The league was more competitive. Local teams were built on youth systems and were proud of the talent in store. Due to restrictions, these teenagers were not sold abroad early, while guys with more experience were kept on the roster. What was the end result? When one team that was neither from Belgrade or Zagreb – namely, Jugoplastika Split – achieved its unforgettable threepeat.

Two decades later, things have changed dramatically. There are fewer players to choose from. Many youth systems have collapsed due to lack of funding. Yet, teams still must win in order to attract publicity and sponsorships. In doing this, defense is the key. Points are built on discipline, patience, positioning and calculated aggression: This in turn translates into fewer minutes for the youngsters who must learn fast and impress quickly or leave.

Take for instance Danilo Andjusic, who rose to prominence as a 19-year old sharpshooter with Hemofarm. He has struggled with playing time since his arrival at Partizan, earning his right to become the team’s go-to guy in Saturday’s Adriatic League loss against Maccabi Tel Aviv only after Acie Law’s controversial departure.

Though questioned about inconsistency, Andjusic played superbly against the Pride of Israel. Positioned as a combo guard by coach Vladimir Jovanovic, he passed the ball around, made steals, forced fouls, and did what he does best: drained two successive three-pointers to open a run which ended in game’s 15th minute with Partizan up 34-21. Andjusic’s offensive intensity was paired with fine role-filling by Vladimir Lučić and Milan Mačvan. It was only Maccabi’s depth – Jon Scheyer and Yogev Ohayon somewhat unexpectedly scored important points – that forced Partizan into defeat.

Having no point guard in sight might just turn out OK for Partizan, as long as young guys get the space they need. Things won’t necessarily go that way, however.

One year Andjusic’s senior, Nemanja Nedovic has to fight for his minutes again after a move to Vilnius was reportedly called off at the last moment. What was his main concern? You guessed it: playing time. An explosive fast breaker who helped the fledgling Red Star avoid relegation last season, Nedovic found himself sitting on the bench as renowned coach Svetislav Pesic looked for options on both sides of the floor, not only in offense. It remains unclear who exactly started the rumor of imminent transfer or whether the player was in fact really halfway out the door. But we do know that, after what must have been a sleepless night, he paid a house call to his coach, humbly choosing to stay and improve his game.

(The top bolded bit in the Serbian-language Mondo article has Pesic stating that he is proud to have Nedovic on the team and that the player came to him for a tete-a-tete. Pesic also confirms that Nedovic had received an offer from another club. –Ed.)

Whether Nedovic staying will pay dividends for Red Star is still unknown. But so far, so good: in Friday’s opening game, Red Star topped Zlatorog 70-56, with six points scored by Nedovic.

Marko Savkovic fell in love with basketball because: a) his older brother used to play, so it must have been a cool thing to do; and b) he witnessed Vlade Divac, Dino Radja and Toni Kukoc play an exhibition match back in 1988. After learning the fundamentals with Partizan Belgrade, Marko spent four years in FMP Zeleznik’s youth system and another three playing lower-division ball. Years later, as a political science graduate, he found a different career for himself, yet remained devoted to hoops. For BallinEurope, he will be closely following developments in the Adriatic League. You may write him at markosavkovic@gmail.com.

Alas, it was not to be. The Serbian sharpshooter will not be part of the Dallas Mavericks’ quest to repeat as NBA champions, announcing his retirement from professional basketball late Monday night. Citing injuries to his neck and back, Stojakovic decided his physical struggles were “a wakeup call” for him to leave the game at this point.

On the plus side, Peja has the privilege of going out on top, in 2011 not only topping his seeming long-time personal rivals the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA playoffs, but also finally earning the ring which had eluded him for a dozen seasons ‘Stateside.

Today BallinEurope pays tribute to the gold-medal winning, NBA title having, future FIBA Hall of Fame nod achieving legend in the traditional fashion … let’s go to the ‘Tube!

• Stojakovic broke into the professional ranks with Crvena Zvedzda Beograd (a.k.a. Red Star Belgrade) at the age of 15 (!) and soon this once-dominant side enjoyed back-to-back Yugoslavian championships in taking out Partizan Belgrade in the finals both years.

• After three seasons of development (and plenty of bench time), Peja was ready to take on a more decisive role with a club. That club turned out to be PAOK; for his newly-prized Greek citizenship, Stojakovic would eventually bag the Greek League MVP nod in 1998.

Unfortunately for club and player, the sole hardware Peja’s PAOK teams could collect was the 1994-95 Greek Cup. On the other hand, in these four years PAOK did manage a second-place Europe finish in ’96 and in Greece in ’98 (losing to former Laker Byron Scott and Panathinaikos; see second video directly below) plus two Euroleague Top 16 runs: The team hasn’t come close to this sort of success since.

• And then the NBA came calling. Having been drafted at no. 14 in the 1996 NBA Draft, by 1998 Stojakovic felt ready to cross the Atlantic. He’d join up with the Sacramento Kings – the team with which he’ll always be associated worldwide – at a most fortuitous time, as the pieces to build a perpetual playoff contender were falling into place … and perhaps personally key for Peja was the acquisition of his Yugoslavian teammate Vlade Divac for 1999-2000.

• Speaking of Yugoslavia, Peja was happily able to enjoy success on perhaps the greatest national team of the ‘00s. Playing alongside the likes of Divac, Dejan Bodiroga, Marko Jaric, Dejan Milojevic and Vladimir Radmanovic, the side took the 2001 Eurobasket tournament and the 2002 FIBA World Championship.

On his part, Stojakovic was second-highest scorer in the 2001 competition (behind Team Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki) at 23 points per game, good for tournament MVP honors.

And in Indianapolis’ FIBA Worlds of 2002, Peja was again his team’s high scorer, still managing to help Yugoslavia over Argentina in the final match with 26 points despite uncharacteristic 2-of-12 shooting on threes. Stojakovic snagged an all-tournament nod for his efforts.

• Meanwhile, back with the Kings, Stojakovic worked his way into the starting lineup for 2000-01. Over the next five years, Peja would contribute lines 19.2-24.2 points and 4.3-6.3 rebounds per game while hitting enough three points to eventually place him at no. 4 on the all-time list in the statistical category.

• Though team-wise Sacramento had limited success from 2000 to 2005 in being forced to compete with Shaq ‘n’ Kobe’s Los Angeles monsters, the accolades for Stojakovic kept followed. He won back-to-back “Mister Europa” awards as Continental player of the year in 2001 and 2002 while receiving invites to three NBA All-Star games.

In fact, it was at the all-star games that perhaps Stojakovic earned the greatest amount of appreciation throughout the U.S., as he consistently became a Larry Bird-like force in the annual 3-point shootout competition. In 2001, Peja took current all-time threes leader Ray “He Got Game” Allen down to the wire, but ultimately had to settle for second place.

No matter, Peja came back in 2002 to take care of Steve Nash and outlast his personal foil in the contest, Wesley Person, to win the title…

…and again in 2003…

…ultimately falling short of the threepeat in 2004, but defying Charles Barkley’s prediction along the way, at least.

• One more highlight reel from the Sacramento days came in 2004, when Stojakovic set his then career-high mark in scoring with 37 points against the Lakers.

• But the Kings’ golden era was ending and in 2005, Peja was dealt to the Indiana Pacers for Ron Artest; he lasted 40 games there before a sign-and-trade agreement the following preseason had him shipped to the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for the rights to Andrew Betts (really).

Around this time, Peja’s well-chronicled back problems began. Due to injury, Stojakovic appeared in just 13 games in 2006-07; unfortunate, indeed, as Peja had given the Hornets a most masterful performance early on, scoring the team’s first 20 points in a November game against the Charlotte Bobcats. This was the first time in NBA history such a feat had been accomplished and Stojakovic’s 42 in the game became his personal high in scoring.

• Things really got percolating between Peja and Chris Paul over the next few years, as the Hornets made the playoffs in ’08 and ’09 (and just two years later, the league wants to contract this franchise – go figure). A representative example? Check out this team record-setting show in which Stojakovic sinks 10 three pointers against those dread Lakers in a game that saw Paul dish 21 assists.

• Another move would come for Peja after the Hornets’ poor 2009-10 and the Serb was shipped to the Toronto Raptors, thereby filling the apparent obligation for every European NBA player to do a shift in Canada. At the time, Stojakovic called the trade “a new chapter in [his] career, [his] life,” it wasn’t much of a read. Peja played just two games as a Raptor before landing in Dallas.

• We all recall what happened next. In a more limited role with the Mavericks, Stojakovic shot right at his career three-point success rate at 40% with a statistical line of 8.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per in 25 games there. Best of all, Peja was able to punish the Lakers along the way to his first NBA title with 15 and 21 points in games three and four, respectively, of the Western Conference semifinals – a nice capper to a legendary career.

BallinEurope wishes best of luck to Peja in the future and, as BiE always says upon retirement of an all-time great, thanks for the memories!

While Divac may be known as a famous trivia answer (“Who was traded for Kobe Bryant?”) or by the dreaded “F-word” (i.e. “flopper” as used in – really – this Los Angeles Times blog entry detailing the story of Vlade’s honor), this nomination shows a lifetime of accomplishment on the basketball court. Heck, in the NBA alone, Divac topped 13,000 points, 9000 rebounds, 3000 assists and 1500 blocked shots over 16 seasons. And then there were those “Dream Team” years with Team Yugoslavia and the glorious early days with KK Partizan in the 1980s, highlighted by Korać Cup titles and Divac’s “Mr. Europa” trophy.

Today, BallinEurope pays tribute to a personal favorite on the occasion in the best way possible: With a YouTube-laden rundown of his long and memorable career! Check out Divac’s progress through turns with Partizan Belgrade, the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, the “Dream Team” Yugoslavian squads, and of course KK Crvena Zvezda during the 1999 NBA player lockout…

• Divac broke into the professional level at 18 years old with KK Sloga Kraljevo and early on contributed 27 points in a game against Crvena Zvezda. At this time, Divac first played with the Yugoslavian national team, ultimately to become an integral part of those monstrous Team Yugoslavia sides which would also feature the likes of Drazen Petrovic, Toni Kukoc and Dino Radja.

• From 1986 through 1989, Divac was with KK Partizan. Teaming with players such as Aleksandar Đorđević, Žarko Paspalj, Željko Obradović, Milenko Savović and Goran Grbović, coach Duško Vujošević’s teams carved a spot among the top teams on the Continent. In these years, Partizan took three Korać Cups, including one over Kukoc’s Euroleague champion KK Split team; won one Yugoslavian national title and one Yugoslavian Cup; and finished third in 1988 in Euroleague, the same year Divac was named European Player of the Year by FIBA.

Below runs some rare footage of the 1988 and ’89 Yugoslavian finals – yep, sonny, we once recorded TV on this device called the VCR…

• Just for the heck of it, here’s a profile piece on Divac from Belgrade news and thus in Serbian only. Well worth a brief view for at least the awesome retro look and the oddity of seeing Divac *that young.*

(Incidentally, if any Serbian-speakers can tell us about anything being discussed in this clip, BallinEurope would much appreciate it.)

• Having enjoyed three years in international play, Divac would amass Olympic silver, plus EuroBasket gold and bronze medals before even suiting up for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 23 in 1989.

• Despite what some informal revisionists might have you think, Lakers fans weren’t exactly 100% unanimous in confidence in their new foreign player – particularly with the act Divac had to follow – in those days when Europeans comprised a tiny fraction of NBA rosters. On a personal note, this Laker fan distinctly remembers (still!) the line from one beat writer in the preseason which ran, “Going from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is like trading in a Cadillac for a Yugo.”

Nevertheless, Divac soon stilled the haters (What term did we use back then? “Detractors,” maybe?) in compiling some decent stats in his rookie season with Pat Reilly’s guys, going for 8.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 19.6 minutes per game. Though almost never in the starting lineup, Divac appeared in all 82 games and displayed an awesome skill set.

• Unfortunately (and somewhat ironically) for him, Divac’s sole appearance in the NBA Finals would come in his first as a starter. Of course, that 1990-91 Lakers team was dismantled by the insurgent Chicago Bulls, losing four games to one. And when Magic bowed out of basketball in November of ’91, Los Angeles would not become a force in the league again until … well, we’ll get to that.

• Meanwhile, geopolitics was happening. Team Yugoslavia finally hit its peak in the years 1989 to ’91, sandwiching EuroBasket titles with the huge gold-medal win at the 1990 FIBA World Championship; Divac’s controversial interaction with a Croatian fan immediately following the final game triggered the events documented most extensively and excellently documented in the ESPN-produced “Once Brothers.”

Due to civil war, Team Yugoslavia no longer existed as before in 1992, but Divac would stay with the team for years to come…

• Back in the NBA, Divac’s most fateful day came in 1996 when he was traded by the Lakers to the Charlotte Hornets for the draft rights to Kobe Bryant – also implying that Los Angeles would also soon be signing the free-agent prize that offseason, Shaquille O’Neal …

• By the way, all this stuff about NBA players in Europe during a lockout is nothing new: Divac played two games with KK Crvena Zvezda in 1999…

• In a way, the exit from the Lakers would ultimately be both a blessing in disguise and his career’s biggest frustration. After two years playing out his contract in Charlotte, Divac joined the Sacramento Kings of Chris Webber and Peja Stojakovic. The teams would form quite the feud while the Lakers were winning titles in the 2000s, though the Kings could never quite top their California rivals in the playoffs.

• The frustration may be best encapsulated by – look away now, Sacramento fans! – that game-winning shot by Robert Horry in game four of the 2002 Western Conference finals. Said Vlade, “It was a lucky shot.” Retorted Horry: “I don’t know, maybe he said read a ‘paper or something.”

• Still with the national team at the turn of the millennium, Divac was now with a Team Yugoslavia drawing on a smaller pool of talent but almost as preeminent in international ball in the early 2000s. BiE sticks by his assessment of the 2001-02 Teams Yugoslavia as the top European national team of that decade: “In 2002, the Yugoslavian team slammed the door on American preeminence in basketball forever. And this was after breezing through Eurobasket 2001, winning five of six games by double-digit margins. Yugoslavia was the only country to take golds at Eurobasket and FIBA World competitions with (basically) the same team; the 2002 roster included Dejan Bodiroga, Peja Stojakovic, Marko Jaric, Dejan Milojevic, Vlade Divac and Vladimir Radmanovic, a roster good enough to merit mention among a discussion of greatest basketball teams ever assembled, period.”

• Returning to the Lakers for 2004-05 in largely a ceremonial capacity, Divac retired at the end of that season, but the accolades continued. He’s in the FIBA Hall of Fame and on the 50 Greatest Euroleague Contributors list; in 2009, he was named Serbia Olympic Committee president. And naturally the Kings retired his jersey.

As for the “flopping” thing, well, the video directly below shows he’s got a sense of humor about things. A Hall of Fame-level sense of humor, perhaps … we’ll have to wait until February to hear if Divac enters the hallowed halls in Springfield, but until then, BiE thanks him for the memories.

Things started innocuously enough, with Sierra plugging a Spanish-language piece he’d written for Deportes: “An article I penned about Pau Gasol’s Spain potentially being the best non-American team ever,” the HoopsHype tweet read.

To which Bogut shot back with, “@hoopshype Yugoslavia of the late 80s might disagree.”

Retorted the ‘Hype: “@AndrewMBogut Gasol has a better record with Spain (2003-2011) than Petrovic with Yugoslavia (1984-1990).”

And finally the exchange ended with Bogut’s terse tweeting of “@hoopshype didn’t say Petro. Said teams. Petro, Divac, Kukoc, Radja etc. I know who i’d take…”

It’s an interesting debate, particularly for those who remember actually seeing Drazen and the guys play in international competition. (Bogut was four years old in 1988 – November 1988 – and there’s no telling on Sierra. BiE was … well, let’s just say “old enough to have seen Team Yugoslavia.”) In fact, BallinEurope took on a similar subject a while back and decided that the post-communist Team Yugoslavia of 2001-02 captained by aging Vlade Divac was superior to any Spanish side since the decade turned – but that’s just one opinion…

Stating his own take on the matter in an article entitled “¿El Euro Dream Team?”, Sierra admittedly tempers his potential crowning of Team Spain as all-time greats with a qualifier that the Rojos will only bear this title should they bag gold in the 2011 FIBA World Championship and 2012 Olympics – quite a qualifer, indeed.

Much high praise in Sierra’s article goes to Pau Gasol and one double-take inducer is the subsequent comparison with Petrovic. Writes Sierra (translation BiE’s), “Spain has never produced so many quality players as in the last decade, but it was Lakers’ power forward that puts this team in contention for the best [European team of all-time]. Since 2003, Spain has played in the finals in five of the six tournaments he has participated. Gasol has won two gold medals (at the 2006 FIBA Worlds and 2009 Eurobasket) and three silvers (Eurobasket 2003 and 2007 and the 2008 Olympics).”

Sierra goes on to point out that Team Spain’s record in international tournaments is just 9-7 since 2003 without Gasol and 39-8 (.829) with him. Petrovic went 46-11 (.807) with Team Yugoslavia between 1984 and 1990 – Sierra himself might have been surprised at these numbers, because BiE sure was – but that .022 difference means about 9/10 of a single game in a 40-game schedule … can we call this even?

Additionally, Bogut may win this round based on his team argument: One key feature of Team Yugoslavia since 1984 and Petrovic’s recognition as a world-class star was the side’s nearly continuous improvement in tournament play:

1984 Olympics: finished 3rd
1985 EuroBasket: finished 7th
1986 World Championship: finished 3rd
1987 EuroBasket: finished 3rd
1988 Olympics: finished 2nd
1989 EuroBasket: finished 1st
1990 World Championship: finished 1st
1991 EuroBasket: finished 1st

Three straight annual titles is impressive enough, but it should be noted that the 1991 victory was accomplished without Petrovic; not only has Spain never achieved a threepeat, one can’t imagine this Spanish side taking any title without Pau – possibly until Marc takes over the duty in a few years.

Sierra notes that Spain’s mark is even more noteworthy due to the fact that Team Yugoslavia never faced an NBA “dream team” in international competition, while Gasol’s Teams Spain have taken three of their eight losses against Team USA, including two to the 2008 “Redeem Team.” Except that this is a petard upon which to be self-hoisted: American fans would certainly see the potential in marking that 2006 world champions with an important asterisk, i.e. *never faced the USA in tournament.

Spain is currently carrying eight players with an NBA pedigree besides Pau Gasol, according to Sierra: Marc Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies), Jose Calderon (Toronto Raptors), Rudy Fernandez (Dallas Mavericks), Serge Ibaka (Oklahoma City Thunder), Ricky Rubio (Minnesota Timberwolves), Juan Carlos Navarro (formerly of the Memphis Grizzlies), Sergio Llull (drafted by the Houston Rockets) and Victor Claver (drafted by the Portland Trailblazers).

But while the Yugoslavian players were playing their trade in a different era, the relative paucity of team members with NBA experience should show instead just how outstanding guys like Vlade Divac, Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja and the immortal Petrovic were. NBA CV aside, doesn’t a first eight of Divac, Petrovic, Kukoc, Radja, Žarko Paspalj, Predrag Danilović, Stojan Vranković, and Jure Zdovc sound pretty fearsome in an all-time tournament?

If Sierra sees a potential weakness of the 2011 Team Spain as dealing defensively with playmakers like Danilo Gallinari, Hedo Turkoglu and Luol Deng, what in Naismith’s name would they have done against the multifaceted Petrovic and Kukoc?

Perhaps it’s a few years – two, including two more international tournament wins – before this debate can be more clearly settled, but FEB president José Luis Sáez is probably dead on when he states that “El rival de España en el Eurobasket es España.” For now, they’re favorites; in the all-time argument game, well, BiE’s still leaning toward Yugoslavia.

It was on this day in 1993 that the only man who realistically could have held claim to the sobriquet of “the European Michael Jordan” was killed in a car accident in Germany. As detailed most recently in the excellent ESPN “30 for 30” documentary “Once Brothers,” Petrović was a fearless, proud player with Team Yugoslavia and later Team Croatia in international play; was on the verge of entering the prime of a Hall of Fame-level career with the New Jersey Nets.

For those of you who never saw Petrović play, do yourselves a favor and take some time to watch below. For those of us fortunate enough to remember this European pioneer blazing trails all over the world, it’s a welcome (if slightly meandering) trip down memory lane. We still miss you, Dražen.

In Greece, they’re remembering Petrović this morning with a nice highlight clip running under the headline “Eighteen years without Dražen.”

History has been unkind to Petrović vis-à-vis his NBA battles with that 1990s uber-phenomenon, i.e. Michael Jordan. Surely many Nets and Chicago Bulls fans remember the battles between these two powers which were mostly, as they say these days, “epic.”

Of course, the entire world was watching when perhaps the single most memorable contest between the two went down in the 1992 Olympic final. Not only did Petrović actually outscore MJ in the game, Team Croatia’s stud relentlessly directly went at Jordan once the Dream Team began pulling away in the third quarter, turning the match into a one-on-one contest whenever both were on the floor.

Dražen’s personal highlight in that Olympics? How about six points in 10 seconds against the Greatest Team Ever Assembled?

By the way, how did the Dream Team ever come to be? Maybe part of it had to do with the star-studded and, quite subjectively, freaking awesome Team Yugoslavia squads of the late 1980s and their eclipsing of the USA’s dominance over Olympic basketball. Petrović was a marquee name among marquee names in 1988, helping lead Yugoslavia to the silver medal in Seoul. And they’d take the gold at the 1990 FIBA World Championship as well…

On the professional level in Europe, Petrović regularly contributed breathtaking performances with Šibenka, Cibona Zagreb and Real Madrid. With the first, he broke through at age 16; at Cibona, he logged two years with the club in Euroleague play, and led the side to the Korać Cup final – ironically losing out to Dejan Bodiroga’s Real Madrid – and the Yugoslav Cup title.

Success didn’t come instantaneously to Petrović when he joined the NBA for the 1989-90 and the Croatian complained that he wasn’t getting quality minutes with the Portland Trail Blazers – a legitimate gripe, considering what he’d do with the Nets.

This YouTube is entitled “Dražen Petrović Unforgettable.” Damn, was he ever.

Finally, if you haven’t yet seen “Once Brothers,” do so. And if you have, you might want to take the time to play homage to one of the all-time greats from a seminal era in NBA basketball and international basketball history.

Wait, did BiE say “cinematic”? That particular adjective may be slightly inaccurate for the films of 2010, especially considering the key noun “excellence” is also involved: In terms of basketball movies, the good news/bad news summation for last year’s roundball cinema subgenre informs that, while the volume of full-length features, documentaries and short videos was up in 2010, a single force dominated in terms of quality. And that force was ESPN. And last year’s best basketball films were, simply put, all on TV.

First, the field in the race for the “Best Dramatic Full-Length Feature” Oscar (Robertson).

The film BiE had forecast to take this award since last January, Just Wright, ultimately turned out to be one of the year’s single most disappointing films – and the letdown started “wright” from the poster’s public release. Seriously, the S.O.S. on this flick should’ve been sent upon first glance at the thing. With Queen Latifah cast as the love interest plus the assistance of a spoon-feeding trailer, you know that this movie’s certain to be about a, let’s say, unorthodox-looking woman winning over the scamming pro athlete. (Either that or it’s about Dwight Howard trying not to laugh while encouraging a 6’1” point guard with no hops.) So, why the poster featuring the most obvious head/body crop since “Pretty Woman,” for Welles’ sake?

Look, BiE loves the Queen. BiE sought hard for any redeeming qualities in “Just Wright,” but what can a would-be sycophant do when the screenwriters on this thing somehow forgot certain key aspects of the craft four pages in; you know, stuff like plot twists and conflict. Common’s Scott McKnight is a nice guy loyal to the New Jersey Nets who suffers a knee injury sometime after getting his team past the Miami Heat and into the NBA finals (giggle), during the long rehab process with Latifah’s physical therapist Leslie Wright, McKnight becomes … a nice guy loyal to the New Jersey Nets.

Naturally – and BiE trusts this isn’t a spoiler – McKnight lands with Wright, at which point complex machinations in the plot have morphed the baller into a nice guy loyal to the New Jersey Nets. He is, however, no longer bothered when the Nets take a decisive six-point loss at movie’s end. Good thing he and Doc Wright signed that multi-year deal.

The sole other basketball-related offering out of Hollywood in 2010 was “Grown Ups,” a sad-bastard glory-days sort of shared misery tale of the sort that features “Saturday Night Live” refugees. Starring Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, David Spade and Rob Schneider – How the hell did Kevin James sneak in there, anyway? – “Grown Ups” is a sledgehammer-subtle story of a quintet reuniting with their families 30 years after they together took a championship in hoops … when they were 12-year-olds.

Three questions: Didn’t this kinda thing turn Robert de Niro psychopathic in “The Fan”? Is this film as big a waste of time as “Just Wright”? Is the best part of “Grown Ups” in fact the opportunity to use an adjective like “sledgehammer-subtle.” Answers: Yes, yes, and oh yes.

The Oscar (Robertson) for “Best Dramatic Full-Length Feature” therefore goes to independently-made “The Saints of Mt. Christopher,” sort of a bizarro version of “Guru of Go” in which Hank Gathers-like Delroy Links (Joel Haywood) collapses and dies during a college basketball game … except anti-Westhead Phil Nevers (Rus Blackwell) had insidiously covered up the lad’s medical condition.

While handling well some tricky questions of American race relations (in this instance of the southern sort) that only indie basketball films seem brave enough to pose, the story of Nevers’ redemption is a tad incongruous against them – but only slightly, and this is a credit to scriptwriter Chris Shields for performing a decent juggling act.

Unfortunately, this one’s even trickier to catch than last year’s Oscar (Roberston) winner, “Who Shot Mamba?” With exceedingly few release dates, no availability online and even a non-existent official website, you’ll have to go the download route.

One addendum after handing out the first trophy must be made, however: BiE has yet to see “Playin’ for Money,” a seriously promising-sounding film from Japan Entertainment Company; the synopsis, ubiquitously available online, reads as follows.

“Money, the charismatic coach of the Oosumi Park Ballers, gets an opportunity to haul his Kagoshima League Championship team across the country to play in an elite basketball tournament in Tokyo, where the winner gets to play the Tokyo Professional Basketball team! All of the players have to confront their own individual challenges, as they learn to play together in this road trip adventure from hell. The trials of the trip pay off, until an unexpected twist throws the whole team into disarray. It takes everything Money has learned along the way to bring the team back together and lead them to an unforgettable ending.”

So let’s give “Playin’ for Money” the tentative award in the “Best Foreign-Language Film” category while BiE gets to securing a copy.

All blockbusters and fiction-telling aside, though, basketball movies in 2010 were dominated by the documentary, specifically several works within ESPN’s “30 for 30” series. (Accuse BiE of being a company man if you will, but best is, ultimately, best…) Of the 30 documentary films produced by the network, five were devoted solely to basketball; a sixth, “Jordan Rides the Bus” featured the game’s most influential-ever player and was directed by “White Men Can’t Jump” scriptwriter Ron Shelton. And a Knicks-Rockets championship series featured heavily in “June 17, 1994” as well.

Of these seven films, the only miss was “Without Bias,” a pretty uncompelling look at perhaps the single biggest “what if” question in basketball history. One wonders why Bill Simmons, producer/visionary behind the documentary series and surely the thumbs-up guy for this particular project, wasn’t given some screen time in this one himself. If nothing new was to be brought to the table and the paucity of highlight clips foregone, director Kirk Fraser might’ve been better off simply dramatizing (or at least working around) one of The Sports Guy’s genuinely touching columns on Lenny.

But hey. The Oscar (Robertson)s aren’t supposed to be about negativity, so onto the positives. Slipping outside the ESPN realm again, a pair of documentaries released in ’10 featured a pair of charismatic characters: “Man in the Glass” is all about the “P.T. Barnum of Basketball”/longtime LSU coach Dale Brown, while “The Street Stops Here” details nearly four decades of Bob Hurley Sr.’s work at St. Anthony High in Jersey City. “Street” packs a bit more emotional punch while “Glass” lines up the names to praise Brown from Shaquille O’Neal to Matthew McConaughey to Dick Vitale. Both films are worth a viewing, but neither delivers the knockout punch of rough living juxtaposed with basketball; if “Hoop Dreams” is a 10 in this aspect, “Street Stops Here” packs about a 7.5. “Man in the Glass” is around 5.

Meanwhile, nominations from the “30 for 30” series include…

Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks, co-starring Spike Lee and a cast of thousands of New Yorkers.

The aforementioned Guru of Go, a tale of Paul Westhead’s time at Loyola Marymount with a couple players named Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble.

Jordan Rides the Bus, wherein the man who some at that time called the greatest athlete of the 20th century tried to find his way in America’s national pastime, with mixed results personal and professional.

And almost as good as the winner of this year’s Oscar (Robertson) for “Best Documentary Film” was “No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson,” one of the hardest looks at incipient race issues ever made – no hyperbole.

The winner, however, is clear. A good measure ahead of any other production in 2010 was Michael Tolajian’s indescribably fantastic “Once Brothers.” Loaded with highlight films and emotional impact, not only were fans moved by the millions by Vlade Divac’s heart-stirring tale of his lost friendships with Team Yugoslavia teammates in the 1990s but a whole new generation was able to appreciate the greatness of Drazen Petrovic. This film is a virtual textbook on how to tell a personal story with one that seems untranslatable to anyone not living in those halcyon days of the late 80s/early 90s

Congratulations to Mr. Tolajian and the entire crew of “Once Brothers.” This Oscar (Robertson) is for you!

And until next time, save BiE the aisle seat…

As a prelude to the Hungarian National League all-star game between locals and foreign-born players, the country’s sole NBA product was reunited with his fellow members of the 1999 Team Hungary, which still represents the country’s last Eurobasket Final 16 appearance since 1969. Of the 10 to suit up for the Hungarian team against the former Laker/Hornet/King, five are still active in professional ball.

On Divac’s side were folks from the Yugoslav nations who were/are luminaries in Hungarian basketball, including current Team Hungary/Albacomp coach Branislav Dzunic, Szolnok Olaj assistant coach Dragan Aleksic, and Káposvár assistant coach Gordan Filipovic.

With a highly diplomatic final score of 92-92, Dávid lived up to his local star billing to produce a 20-point, six-rebound effort while Divac played little and scored just one bucket. Maybe he was beat from public appearances … or maybe that Budapest night life got to him. Who needs L.A.?

As for the main festivities, BallinEurope does believe this all-star game was a mutant scoring fest among mutant scoring fests. Final score: Hungary 169, Foreigners 167; the sides scored 40 points or more in six of eight possible chances. Ádám Hanga was named MVP for his 29-point, 15-assist showing; the gaudiest line – perhaps in any all-star weekend on the planet in 2011 – was turned in by former University of Oklahoma Sooner Tony Crocker at 29 points and 21 assists.

Crocker warmed up for the game by winning this year’s dunk contest. A brief video of the Hungary-Yugoslavia match may be seen here (scroll down the page a bit). But, hey, here are some cheerleaders from the show.

If you have not seen this, please check it out; the “30 for 30” series has cranked out a number of great films, including several basketball-themed products such as “Winning Time” and “Jordan Rides the Bus,” but the stunning story of friendship and loss of friendship among the awesome Team Yugoslavia squads of the late 1980s/early 90s is truly one of the best thus far – and certainly tops for an international audience.

This is courtesy YouTube user Captain Canada for posting these clips; in the past, someone has removed these videos within days after posting – BiE supposes its their right and all, but still… – so enjoy it while you can!

When the former Yugoslavia fell into chaos in a bloody civil war, team cornerstones Divac and Petrovic stopped talking, their close friendship instantly shattered in a moment of time in which Divac’s motivations were misunderstood. Despite the fact that they had entered the history books together as FIBA World Champions and again as the first two Yugoslavians to play in the NBA, they would never exchange a word again.

Petrovic was killed in a car accident following the 1992-93 and until the filming of “Once Brothers,” Divac and the other Team Yugoslavia players had never dealt with the demons of war that still affected their lives nearly two decades on.

A joint effort of ESPN and NBA Entertainment, Michael Tolajian was chosen to run the show in this director-centric series. Tolajian first came to NBA Entertainment straight out of college in 1989, “back when there was maybe 30 people working there,” he says. And while Tolajian has since formed his own production company in Los Angeles and has had a hand in many projects, including the “World Series of Poker” TV program since 2006, he always seems to come back to basketball.

Maybe most notably, Tolajian produced the 2000 documentary “Whatever Happened to Michael Ray?” for NBA Entertainment, a fantastic (and cameo-packed) look at the rise and fall of late 1970s/early 80s superstar “Sugar Ray” Richardson narrated with gusto by Chris Rock. His “I Am A Celtic” is a look at the 2006-07 Boston Three Party as seen through the eyes of legends Sam Jones, John Havlicek and Bob Cousy.

Tolajian talked with BallinEurope about “Once Brothers,” a highly personal story that encompasses much of the human experience itself – as well as present some fantastic international basketball history.

How do you know Vlade Divac and how did this project come together?
When ESPN was discussing the “30 for 30” idea, the whole concept was to go to directors and let them take the creative reins, to come up with the subject matter and how to do it. But they wanted the end results to feel like films, not just documentary dry.

I was working at NBA Entertainment, and they were working with ESPN on a few projects [when the “30 for 30” idea first began]. Many years back, we had done a six-minute feature on the Yugoslavian team and how it had broken apart. But you know: With six minutes, you can’t do anything … Dion Cocoros [NBA Entertainment vice president of original content] and I had done a lot of work with Vlade when he was with the Lakers and especially when he was with the Kings.

We were talking and the idea came up that “This would be a great topic for 30 for 30.” And then I put my director’s cap on and thought, “How can we make this story unique?” Two years earlier, one of our producers had done some shooting in Croatia with Drazen [Petrovic]’s family, so we had a good relationship there.

Eventually, I asked Vlade about the subject and if he would be open to maybe taking a little journey of self-discovery…

Was that difficult for him?
This was a difficult subject, but I think for Vlade and Dino Radja, Toni Kukoc and the rest, it was difficult to talk about it at the time, and it was almost easier for them to talk about it 20 years later, as though it was eating away at them. It was something they really wanted to talk about, but couldn’t [at that time] and this project was like an excuse for them to spill their guts. I know it was cathartic for Vlade and I think it was for some other players as well.

Though this story takes place in a completely different realm and circumstances, do you see any similarities between the story in “Once Brothers” and that of “Whatever Happened to Michael Ray?”
Some. They’re both stories in which the sports are almost secondary – they’re about a person’s life and hardships they have to overcome, that they have to deal with. Non-sports fan were drawn to the Michael Ray Richardson story and maybe [they’ll be drawn] even more to this one, because everyone can relate to the issues in this film.

Both movies were also stories about people who were older – stories of men looking back upon their lives and taking stock of what happened, trying to come to some peace in their lives and trying not to take a lot of bad wisdom into their futures.

Were you surprised by anything during the making of “Once Brothers”?
I wouldn’t call it surprised, but a couple of things were notable. Working with Vlade and with Drazen’s brother and mother – I was struck by how kind they were and how proud of their country. It’s rare to meet people so accommodating and warm.

I was a bit surprised at how close Zagreb and Belgrade are: How similar the people are and yet how different. In general, it was a great experience personally. I had never been to there before and to see this different part of the world was all eye-opening to me.

In the trailer, Divac explains that he’s setting out to “find out what happened.” Without giving too much away, do you think that he finds some resolution?
The process of making the film was definitely a discovery and represented closure for Vlade: He dealt with some issues that he had buried for a while. For Kukoc and Radja, it was therapeutic in a way to get their side out, like they couldn’t in 1991 during the heat of the conflict. And for Drazen Petrovic’s family, any opportunity to talk about Drazen is absolutely welcomed.

What can an American too young to remember Drazen Petrovic or the Yugoslavian war take away from this film?
Well, I’m not trying to get any particular message across, but just want to tell a story. For me, “Once Brothers” was a story that went beyond the court and into themes like war, death, life, friendship and reconciliation.

One thing I think American audiences will get out of the film is how great that Yugoslavia team was up to 1991 when the war broke out; this was a team that put seven or eight players in the NBA: This small state put together a team that was really amazing. It was really a moment in time when all these players came together. In the film, you get some evidence of how good they were and how close they were. They’d spend months in the mountains bonding during training – Croatians, Serbians, Montenegrins, Christians, Muslims … it didn’t matter.

And the other thing for audiences is how horrible war is and how it can destroy families and friendships. The one line that I’ll always remember is Vlade’s quote: “To build a friendship takes years, to destroy it takes one second.”

“Once Brothers” will be shown on ESPN (and presumably ESPN America) on Tuesday, October 12 at 8pm EST (Wednesday, October 13 at 2pm CET) and be rerun on Wednesday, October 20 at 9.30pm EST (Thursday, October 21 at 3.30am CET). The “30 for 30” series is also run on ESPN 2 and ESPN Classic. The full listings for the series through December may be found here.

The “30 for 30” series features medium-length films on a sports subject; among the notable names contributing directorial skills to the series are Barry Levinson, Steve Nash, Ice Cube and Morgan Freeman.

Focus of “Once Brothers” is the success and dissolution of the great Yugoslavia teams of the late 1980s/early 1990s became embroiled in war. Divac and the legendary Drazen Petrovic had been close as Team Yugoslavia piled up victories in international play, but they “stopped talking [...]and the nationalistic rhetorics in both countries must have influenced them, just like many other friends and colleagues at the time, even family members.”

Though Divac had “managed to set things straight with former teammates [such as] Croatians Toni Kukoc and Dino Radja, he was too late to make peace with Drazen.” Said Divac: “Drazen and I were very close teammates in the national team of the former Yugoslavia and we entered the NBA together in 1989. Our lives took different directions when the war started and we never had time to meet and solve our disagreements.”

The official “30 for 30” website has not been updated to reflect the addition of “Once Brothers” to the 32(?)-film lineup and the documentary has not been added to the posted schedule which runs through June, so reckon that we’ll be seeing the release of this film in late 2010 or early 2011.

Basketball-centric films in “30 for 30” include “Without Bias” on the demise of Bill Simmons’ favorite almost-Celtic; the upcoming “Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks,” inexplicably not directed by Spike Lee; “No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson,” a tale of race directed by Steve James of Hoop Dreams fame; and “Jordan Rides the Bus” about You-Know-Who taking a swing (so to speak) at baseball, directed by Ron “White Men Can’t Jump” Shelton.

No confirmation on European showings of these films or when the DVD release date is, but to get on a mailing list to be notified when the DVDs are available, send an email to 30for30Requests@espncustomercare.com.