Getting to know Hrvoje Vucic

Croatian big man Hrvoje Vucic agreed to answer some questions for me recently.  Before we get to the Q/A a little bit about Vucic.  Vucic has three years of eligibility remaining after red shirting his first season back in 2009-2010.  Hrvoje's action was limited last year.  He saw action in 11 games last year, hit 5 of his 9 field goal attempts, and sent four opponent shots to the block party.  This year I suspect we will be seeing a lot more Hrvoje patrolling the paint.  Let's get to the good stuff:

HC:  Can you tell us the events that lead up to you coming to Valparaiso University?
Vucic: Well I realized that I wouldn't develop my bball skills and knowledge back in Croatia so i wanted to try out something new which in this case was coming to the states.
HC: What other schools recruited you?
Vucic: No D1 schools just a couple preps and high schools I was supposed to go to but I chose Valpo cause a couple Croats graduated from here so that makes it a lot easier for me.

HC: I heard a rumor that you've added some muscle weight this off-season, any truth to that? What is your height and weight currently?

I suspect this is what Hrvoje looks like now

Vucic: Yeah when I came in I was around 7 feet and 208 lbs, I added some muscle weight and I am about 245lbs right now.
HC: What role do you expect to play on this years club?
Vucic: I am hoping I will start this year, that is my #1 goal for this season personally, but what I want the most is for the team to win the Horizon League and make it to the NCAA
HC: How will a Coach Bryce team play differently then a Coach Homer team (faster pace, different D)?
Vucic: I am sure we'll play a lot faster and run fast breaks a lot. I think we will do better than last year just cause we have so many guys that can play and I think coach Bryce will use more than 9 guys in his rotation.
HC: Did you play a role in bringing Dino to Valpo? What advice would you give an incoming freshman who is from overseas?
Vucic: Ummm coach Bryce asked me about him couple times, I said he was pretty good so if that helped I guess I did my job, lol. But my advice to him is to be patient like I was and his time will come.


HC: You and Vashil could be quite the force on the inside in the Horizon League this season, will VU block records fall this year?
Vucic: Well we are definitely a taller team this year than we were last year, we have Vashil and me, and we also brought in Richie who is 6'8 so I am sure we will be better in segments such as rebounding and inside scoring but also low block defending.
HC: Any pregame rituals or superstitions that you can share with us?
Vucic: Umm not that I can think of. We just kinda go out there an d have fun, and win games of course, lol.
HC: Any nicknames?
Vucic:  Not really, now that you asked we do need to work on that...haha.


Big thanks to Hrvoje for taking some of his time to answer these questions.  Now readers, we have a contest.  Hrvoje needs a nickname.  Go to the SectionEE Facebook page for the contest!

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