Rising start: Zelijko Rebraca - Detroit Pistons - Brief Article

Basketball Digest, Feb, 2002 by Tom Kertes

A 32-50 SEASON CAN MAKE YOU realize a lot of things.

Last summer, the long-suffering Detroit Pistons finally realized that they couldn't get along any better without a real post man than the U.S. Postal Service could. They needed a 5, one who could to do real "five-y" things in the paint, instead of trying to round up all their four-and-a-halves.

"We realized that, while we needed to make a lot of changes, none was more pressing than balancing our team by adding an inside game," director of player personnel John Hammond says.

International scout Tony Ronzoni Just happened to mention an obscure Yugoslavian, 6'11" Zelijko Rebraca. Rebraca was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics way back in 1994 and had his rights hot potatoed to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors without getting an NBA bite.

Not the most promising beginning. Worse, "Zelijko never really put up huge numbers in Europe," Hammond smiles. "But what grabbed our attention was that he's won championships on every single team he's been on."

Agent Bill Duffy's offer--a one-year guarantee and two more years at the team's option--closed the deal. "It was like the Godfather--you couldn't refuse," Hammond says.

"The first contract is irrelevant," Duffy says. "Once you see `Z' play, you'll never want to let go."

Indeed, the 29-year-old Yugo has put up numbers that, per-minute, have him among the elite NBA centers in scoring, rebounding, and blocks. And, not at all coincidentally, the heretofore hopeless Pistons have shown signs of life.

How does Z do it? At first glance, he looks a little slow. At second glance, he owns all the explosiveness of ... well, a guy who's not the least bit explosive.

"Think Larry Bird," Hammond says. "Was he fast or explosive? Z is super-strong, fundamentally sound, and really knows how to use his body."

Rebraca, just as shambling off the court, shakes his bleached-blond locks in quiet agreement. "All those years, the NBA wasn't ready for me and I wasn't ready for the NBA, I guess," he whispers with a shrug. "But now I'm ready to play with the best. At least I think I am."