Aleksandar Radojevic
Encyclopedia
Aleksandar Radojević is a professional basketball
player who plays for APOEL
in Cyprus
.
, or Bijela
,Montenegro
, or Trebinje
, in Bosnia and Herzegovina
, all in the now former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
. He only started playing basketball at age 16 after playing football and water polo
as a youngster.
where he sporadically played a certain amount of games.
A center
, he signed a national letter of intent
to play for Ohio State University
's prestigious Buckeyes
in the early part of 1997. Radojevic never played for Ohio State because the NCAA declared him ineligible for accepting around $9,000 (or $13,000) to play for Budućnost in 1996. He thus ended up at a much less glamorous basketball programme of Barton County Community College
where he spent the next two seasons.
After a college year at Barton County CC where he averaged over 4 blocks per game, he had reportedly been given several thousand dollars to move to Ohio State University
after his freshman season which resulted in coach Jim O'Brien getting fired and Radojevic branded ineligible to play. O'Brien had given Radojević $6,700 ($6,000 of his own cash in $50 and $100 bills) in 1999, but had lied about it and tried to cover it up. O'Brien was fired June 8, 2004. O'Brien said he gave Radojević the loan in 1999 because the player's father was dying and the family had no money for medicine or the funeral.
and was selected by the Toronto Raptors
in the first round. His first season in the NBA, 1999–2000, was not a happy one—after appearing in only three games recording 2.3 ppg and 2.7 rpg he got injured and missed the remainder of the campaign. Throughout summer 2000, he played in the Rocky Mountain Revue
summer league. Back with the Raptors for the 2000–01 season he fared even worse than in his rookie season as the combination of bad form and nagging injuries kept him out of the lineup completely. He did not record a single minute of action in the season before the Raptors decided to trade him to Denver Nuggets
on January 12, 2001, along with Kevin Willis
, Garth Joseph
and a second-round draft choice, in exchange for Keon Clark
, Tracy Murray
and Mamadou N'diaye
.
However, things did not improve much for him in Denver either as Radojević sat out the remainder of the 2000–01 season without appearing in any games for the Nuggets. On October 22, 2001, before the start of 2001–02 season, Denver shipped him off to Milwaukee Bucks
along with Kevin Willis
as part of a three-way trade that saw Scott Williams
join the Nuggets.
His time with Milwaukee was more of the same and two months into the season he got waived without recording any minutes.
that competed in the Euroleague
and the Adriatic League. He appeared in seven Euroleague games for them (3.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg) as well as in nine Adriatic League games (4.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg) before he was on his way out barely 3 months after arriving.
His next stop was with Basket (Mabo) Livorno
of the Italian League
where he spent the remainder of the 2001–02 season (9 games, 3.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg).
For the 2002–03 campaign, Radojević signed with Telekom Baskets Bonn
of the German Bundesliga
. Twentysix years of age at this point, his stats finally somewhat improved as he featured in 26 domestic league games (8.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and ten ULEB Cup
matches (6.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg).
Over the summer 2003 he moved to PAOK Thessaloniki
of the Greek League where he spent the entire 2003–04 season.
in the 2004–05 season.
, in Greece for Olympia Larissa
(2005–06 season), and in Cyprus (APOEL Nicosia
, Keravnos Keo Nicosia
).
at the 2005 EuroBasket.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player who plays for APOEL
APOEL B.C.
APOEL is a professional basketball team from Nicosia, Cyprus. APOEL is one of the most successful basketball clubs in Cyprus by winning 10 Championships, 11 Cups and 10 Supercups. APOEL B.C. is part of the APOEL multisport club.-History:...
in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
.
Early life
Radojević was born in either Herceg NoviHerceg Novi
Herceg Novi is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 inhabitants...
, or Bijela
Bijela
Bijela is a coastal town within the municipality of Herceg Novi, Montenegro. It is located north of Herceg Novi, by the Verige strait of the Kotor Bay...
,Montenegro
Socialist Republic of Montenegro
Socialist Republic of Montenegro or SR Montenegro in shortened form, was a socialist state that was a constituent country in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is a predecessor of the modern day Montenegro...
, or Trebinje
Trebinje
Trebinje is the southernmost municipality and town in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is administratively part of the Republika Srpska entity and is located in southeastern Herzegovina, some from the Adriatic Sea....
, in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina , known until 1963 under the name of People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
, all in the now former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
. He only started playing basketball at age 16 after playing football and water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
as a youngster.
Career
He started his career with Cetinje outfit KK Lovćen where he spent the 1995–96 season. For the next 1996–97 season he moved to Budućnost PodgoricaKK Buducnost Podgorica
KK Budućnost Podgorica is a professional basketball club from Podgorica, Montenegro. It is a part of Budućnost Podgorica sport society. The team currently competes in First Montenegrin Opportunity League and regional Adriatic League...
where he sporadically played a certain amount of games.
A center
Center (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
, he signed a national letter of intent
National Letter of Intent
The National Letter of Intent is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating NCAA colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manages the daily operations of the NLI program while the Collegiate Commissioners Association provides...
to play for Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
's prestigious Buckeyes
Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball
The Lucas Sapp men's basketball team represents The Ohio State University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Buckeyes are a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes won their only National Championship in 1960 and have made a total of 21 NCAA Tournament appearances...
in the early part of 1997. Radojevic never played for Ohio State because the NCAA declared him ineligible for accepting around $9,000 (or $13,000) to play for Budućnost in 1996. He thus ended up at a much less glamorous basketball programme of Barton County Community College
Barton County Community College
Barton Community College is a two-year junior college located in Great Bend, Kansas. Its service area includes Barton, Ellsworth, Pawnee, Rush and Russell Counties,Stafford County north of US Highway 50, and northwestern Rice County.Athletics:The school is more commonly known for it nationally...
where he spent the next two seasons.
After a college year at Barton County CC where he averaged over 4 blocks per game, he had reportedly been given several thousand dollars to move to Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
after his freshman season which resulted in coach Jim O'Brien getting fired and Radojevic branded ineligible to play. O'Brien had given Radojević $6,700 ($6,000 of his own cash in $50 and $100 bills) in 1999, but had lied about it and tried to cover it up. O'Brien was fired June 8, 2004. O'Brien said he gave Radojević the loan in 1999 because the player's father was dying and the family had no money for medicine or the funeral.
NBA
He then entered his name in the 1999 NBA Draft1999 NBA Draft
The 1999 NBA Draft was held on June 30, 1999 at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. It was the first draft in which four players from the same college were picked in the first round, with Elton Brand , Trajan Langdon , Corey Maggette and William Avery being selected out of Duke University...
and was selected by the Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
in the first round. His first season in the NBA, 1999–2000, was not a happy one—after appearing in only three games recording 2.3 ppg and 2.7 rpg he got injured and missed the remainder of the campaign. Throughout summer 2000, he played in the Rocky Mountain Revue
Rocky Mountain Revue
The Rocky Mountain Revue, until 2008, was one of the NBA's summer leagues, along with the Vegas Summer League and the Orlando Pro Summer League. It is hosted by the Utah Jazz. It started in 1984 as a pro-am league with students and alumni of Utah, BYU, Weber State and Utah State...
summer league. Back with the Raptors for the 2000–01 season he fared even worse than in his rookie season as the combination of bad form and nagging injuries kept him out of the lineup completely. He did not record a single minute of action in the season before the Raptors decided to trade him to Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...
on January 12, 2001, along with Kevin Willis
Kevin Willis
Kevin Alvin Willis is a former American professional basketball player who last played for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA. He is a 7-foot power forward/center...
, Garth Joseph
Garth Joseph
Garth McArthur Fitzgerald Joseph is a Dominican professional basketball player who previously played in the NBA....
and a second-round draft choice, in exchange for Keon Clark
Keon Clark
Arian Keon Clark is a former American National Basketball Association player.After a collegiate career at two different junior colleges and UNLV, Clark was selected 13th overall by the Orlando Magic in the 1998 NBA Draft but was traded to the Denver Nuggets...
, Tracy Murray
Tracy Murray
Tracy Lamonte Murray is a retired American professional basketball player who played for six different NBA franchises and two Greek clubs, with a final stint in France...
and Mamadou N'diaye
Mamadou N'diaye
Mamadou N'Diaye is a Senegalese professional basketball player. After a college career at Auburn University, in the United States, N'Diaye was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2000 NBA Draft. He played for the Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles...
.
However, things did not improve much for him in Denver either as Radojević sat out the remainder of the 2000–01 season without appearing in any games for the Nuggets. On October 22, 2001, before the start of 2001–02 season, Denver shipped him off to Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....
along with Kevin Willis
Kevin Willis
Kevin Alvin Willis is a former American professional basketball player who last played for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA. He is a 7-foot power forward/center...
as part of a three-way trade that saw Scott Williams
Scott Williams (basketball)
Scott Christopher Williams is a retired American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association. Standing at 6' 10", he was capable of playing as a power forward or a center.-Early life / College career:...
join the Nuggets.
His time with Milwaukee was more of the same and two months into the season he got waived without recording any minutes.
Back to Europe
In December 2001, Radojevic signed with Slovenian team Olimpija LjubljanaKK Union Olimpija
-Depth Chart:-In: Ben Woodside Deon Thompson Aleksandar Ćapin Jaka Blažič Danny Green Ratko Varda Robert Rothbart -Out: Giorgi Shermadini - return from a loan Kenny Gregory Samo Udrih Aloysius Anagonye Vladimir...
that competed in the Euroleague
Euroleague
Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...
and the Adriatic League. He appeared in seven Euroleague games for them (3.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg) as well as in nine Adriatic League games (4.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg) before he was on his way out barely 3 months after arriving.
His next stop was with Basket (Mabo) Livorno
Basket Livorno
Basket Livorno, also known for sponsorship reasons as TDShop.it Livorno was an Italian basketball club based in Livorno.In 2008/09 season it played in the Italian LegADue , but after that season the team finished its activity due to debits.It got relegated from Serie A, the top division, after the...
of the Italian League
Serie A (basketball)
Lega Basket Serie A is the highest level club competition in Italian professional basketball where play determines the national champion. The season consists of a home-and-away schedule of 30 games, followed by an eight-team playoff round. Quarterfinals and semifinals series are best-of-five, and...
where he spent the remainder of the 2001–02 season (9 games, 3.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg).
For the 2002–03 campaign, Radojević signed with Telekom Baskets Bonn
Telekom Baskets Bonn
Telekom Baskets Bonn is a professional basketball club that is based in Bonn, Germany. The club plays in the German Basketball League, which is the highest level pro basketball league in Germany. The club's sponsor is the German company Deutsche Telekom, a big telephone and internet company, which...
of the German Bundesliga
Basketball Bundesliga
The Basketball Bundesliga — commonly abbreviated BBL — is the highest level league of club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season is split into a league stage and a playoff stage...
. Twentysix years of age at this point, his stats finally somewhat improved as he featured in 26 domestic league games (8.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and ten ULEB Cup
ULEB Cup
Eurocup Basketball is the second-tier level transnational professional basketball competition in Europe. The Eurocup is the level that is one tier below the Turkish Airlines Euroleague level...
matches (6.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg).
Over the summer 2003 he moved to PAOK Thessaloniki
PAOK BC
P.A.O.K. Thessaloniki B.C. is the professional basketball department of the Greek multi-sports club P.A.O.K., originally founded in 1926 and is based in Thessaloniki, Greece. The club has established a firm reputation in Greek sports, especially for its success in European leagues...
of the Greek League where he spent the entire 2003–04 season.
Brief return to the NBA
He played twelve games for the Utah JazzUtah Jazz
The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
in the 2004–05 season.
Third stint in Europe
Radojevic played professionally in Poland for Prokom Trefl SopotProkom Trefl Sopot
Asseco Prokom Gdynia is a Polish professional basketball team, based in Gdynia, Poland. The team plays in the Polish Basketball League and the Euroleague...
, in Greece for Olympia Larissa
Olympia Larissa BC
GS Olympia Larissa BC is a Greek professional basketball club that is based in Larissa, Greece. The club's full name is Gymnastikos Syllogos Olympia Larissa Basketball Club. It was founded in 1979, making it one of the youngest sports clubs in Greece. Its colors are orange and green...
(2005–06 season), and in Cyprus (APOEL Nicosia
APOEL B.C.
APOEL is a professional basketball team from Nicosia, Cyprus. APOEL is one of the most successful basketball clubs in Cyprus by winning 10 Championships, 11 Cups and 10 Supercups. APOEL B.C. is part of the APOEL multisport club.-History:...
, Keravnos Keo Nicosia
Keravnos
Keravnos Strovolos is one of the powerhouses of Cypriot basketball. Founded in 1926, it is based in the Nicosia suburb of Strovolos. In the past, the club also had a football team.-History:...
).
National Team
Radojevic represented Bosnia-HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina national basketball team
The Bosnian and Herzegovinian national basketball team represents Bosnia and Herzegovina in international basketball matches and competitions.-History:...
at the 2005 EuroBasket.
External links
- NBA stats @ basketballreference.com