By Dr. Peter Toth
Croatia is a treasure mine of basketball diamonds – this axiom is known to anyone who has ever heard of Dario Saric, Dragan Bender, Kresimir Nikic or Darko Bajo, just to name a few of whom we announced first for the international public. If one walks the streets of Zagreb, should always do it with sharp and open eyes for pearls hidden and waiting for discovery. It is such a rough find that I came across recently visiting a practice of a second level (B1) team KK Auctor. An ordinary practice of the senior team, guys come and go when I notice the youngest player on squad who happens to be the tallest of them all. It is not hard to ascertain what I hear from the guys around that he is the tallest young baller in Croatia ever, which – in terms of the country – does mean a lot.
Karlo Balja (17.08.1998) is 17 years old, but at 7'3" (220cm) and 235lb, he is obviously head and shoulders above the competition. Bending his head at every doorway and discussion he has to pass through, it is not hard to keep an eye on him during the practice. Balja runs the floor fast, has soft hands that are huge enough to hold the ball firmly. He dunks confidently from whatever position the ball finds him. Scores and blocks follow each other, one after the other, although one cannot help noticing some typical features of the teenage center still present in his movements. He needs a bit more weight and muscles as the 17-year old giant has obviously not grown fully into his body, but he is discovering its huge potentials. He is not embarrassed at all on the court and is ready to enjoy and use them.
When spoken to, Karlo is the typical silent Croatian teenage guy, apart from the fact that the average adult fits comfortably under his armpits. He answers in a nice, confident English and tells us he has been playing basketball in his whole life. The first encounter was at school when he was 9 and from about 12 he was already playing for the legendary CEDEVITA. He loved the game and, having the innate potential of towering over everyone around, soon got into CEDEVITA's young cadet (U14) and cadet (U15) selection. When with 13 he hit the 2m-mark and started to dunk, he was scoring 20-30/game at various occasions in and outside Croatia alike. The turn in his career came when he left CEDEVITA in July 2015. It is hard to ask him about his reasons of leaving that prestigious team to play center in a second level senior team. Long commutes, personal problems, family issues come up, but it is hard to get around the question. But he becomes clear and cheerful when it is about the future, he wants to play, improve and most importantly to face challenges and intense game pressure. As the old saying has it "you can't teach height" and in this respect Karlo has a lot to offer, but given his speed and soft hands he is obviously a diamond in rough, and a giant one, that needs to be discovered and worked on by someone to get the most out of it. Let's hope it happens soon.
Croatia is a treasure mine of basketball diamonds – this axiom is known to anyone who has ever heard of Dario Saric, Dragan Bender, Kresimir Nikic or Darko Bajo, just to name a few of whom we announced first for the international public. If one walks the streets of Zagreb, should always do it with sharp and open eyes for pearls hidden and waiting for discovery. It is such a rough find that I came across recently visiting a practice of a second level (B1) team KK Auctor. An ordinary practice of the senior team, guys come and go when I notice the youngest player on squad who happens to be the tallest of them all. It is not hard to ascertain what I hear from the guys around that he is the tallest young baller in Croatia ever, which – in terms of the country – does mean a lot.
Karlo Balja (17.08.1998) is 17 years old, but at 7'3" (220cm) and 235lb, he is obviously head and shoulders above the competition. Bending his head at every doorway and discussion he has to pass through, it is not hard to keep an eye on him during the practice. Balja runs the floor fast, has soft hands that are huge enough to hold the ball firmly. He dunks confidently from whatever position the ball finds him. Scores and blocks follow each other, one after the other, although one cannot help noticing some typical features of the teenage center still present in his movements. He needs a bit more weight and muscles as the 17-year old giant has obviously not grown fully into his body, but he is discovering its huge potentials. He is not embarrassed at all on the court and is ready to enjoy and use them.
When spoken to, Karlo is the typical silent Croatian teenage guy, apart from the fact that the average adult fits comfortably under his armpits. He answers in a nice, confident English and tells us he has been playing basketball in his whole life. The first encounter was at school when he was 9 and from about 12 he was already playing for the legendary CEDEVITA. He loved the game and, having the innate potential of towering over everyone around, soon got into CEDEVITA's young cadet (U14) and cadet (U15) selection. When with 13 he hit the 2m-mark and started to dunk, he was scoring 20-30/game at various occasions in and outside Croatia alike. The turn in his career came when he left CEDEVITA in July 2015. It is hard to ask him about his reasons of leaving that prestigious team to play center in a second level senior team. Long commutes, personal problems, family issues come up, but it is hard to get around the question. But he becomes clear and cheerful when it is about the future, he wants to play, improve and most importantly to face challenges and intense game pressure. As the old saying has it "you can't teach height" and in this respect Karlo has a lot to offer, but given his speed and soft hands he is obviously a diamond in rough, and a giant one, that needs to be discovered and worked on by someone to get the most out of it. Let's hope it happens soon.
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