Vucinic Honoured
Tagged in: In The News, Tall Blacks
Josh Reich, Nelson Mail
Jelena Vucinic has to look no further than her father, Nenad, for proof of the heights one can achieve in a basketball career.
Nenad Vucinic – owner of the Nelson Giants and coach of the Tall Blacks – was yesterday honoured for one of the high points of his playing career, representing New Zealand at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
He was the 24th and final Nelsonian recognised, following a major ceremony last year and other smaller ones since.
To commemorate 100 years of New Zealand Olympic history, the New Zealand Olympic Committee, together with the Olympians Club of New Zealand, has honoured each of the country’s 1111 Olympic athletes with a pin emblazoned with the Olympian’s unique number, and a certificate signed by IOC president Jacques Rogge and NZOC secretary-general Barry Maister.
Vucinic, Olympian number 857, was presented with his pin by Tasman Regional Sports Trust chief executive Nigel Muir yesterday.
Vucinic has been coaching in Estonia and more recently Turkey, and is back in Nelson briefly ahead of trials in Auckland at the weekend for the Tall Blacks’ world championship campaign next month.
Vucinic is a humble man and said he always felt slightly uncomfortable about receiving individual accolades in a team sport, but said it was an honour to be part of the first New Zealand basketball team to play at the Olympics.
“It was a great Olympics, especially to go down to the same village with the guys who you’ve read about in newspapers and seen on TV. It was a great feeling.”
The Sydney Olympics were his playing swansong after an 11-year career with the Tall Blacks, however, he was back at the 2004 Athens Olympics as an assistant coach.
He said the team was slightly overawed in 2000, only managing one win against Angola, but on the back of their third placing at the 2002 world championships, were much more confident in 2004 where they managed a victory over the then world champs Serbia and Montenegro.
Jelena, a Junior Tall Fern, will be taking up a basketball scholarship at the end of August at Louisiana Tech University, and said her father’s achievements inspired her to aim for the Olympics.
“Definitely, if I get the opportunity, I would go for it.”
She could not remember much about her father’s appearance at the Games, with the most memorable aspect being the fact he returned with a shaved head, courtesy of fellow Giant and Tall Black Phill Jones.
