Lietuvos Rytas have announced another signing, as the 21-year-old Serbian guard Nemanja Nedovic will be joining the Lithuanian club after spending the last seven years with Crvena Zvezda.
“It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but I
believe there won’t be any regrets in the future,” the player said in an
interview with lrytas.lt.
The combo guard has been linked to Vilnius for
quite some time already. During the previous season, the player was minutes
from joining Lietuvos Rytas, when a three-team deal, also including Crvena
Zvezda and Olympiacos, didn’t go through.
“I played both as a point guard and a shooting
guard last year. It’s not an easy task, but with time I think I’m becoming more
versatile player,” explained Nedovic, who has already worked with the current
coach of Lietuvos Rytas Aleksandar Dzikic in the Serbian U20 team last year.
The player had an impressive tournament
personally, collecting 19.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, but
Serbia didn’t do too well, ending up fighting for relegation.
This year, Nedovic has hopes of making a debut
for the Serbian senior side, which will play in EuroBasket 2013 qualification
this summer.
“I’m currently in the 24-player list. On June
28, the coach will announce the 18-man shortlist, which will be invited to the
first training camp. It would be a big achievement for me, if I made it,” said
the young prospect.
How much did the fact
that Aleksandar Dzikic is the coach of the team influence your decision?
It was one of the reasons, why I chose Lietuvos
Rytas. We worked really well together last year in the Serbian youth team. It’s
also very important that Lietuvos Rytas will play in Euroleague. I want to try
myself in Europe’s strongest league. It wasn’t easy to leave Crvena Zvezda,
since I had played there for my whole career.
What do you know about
Lithuanian basketball?
I know that Lithuanians live for basketball. It’s
a basketball country with strong teams, especially Zalgiris and Lietuvos Rytas.
They are Euroleague clubs with great organization and strong players.
Do you know any
players currently on the team?
Predrag Samardziski and Aleksandar Rasic, who
will not be on the team next year. I also know a couple of young players –
Dovydas Redikas and Paulius Dambrauskas.
You’re being regarded
as one of the most talented Serbian players, do you have NBA aspirations?
Of course. I could have participated in the NBA
draft this year, but we decided that it would be best to wait a little more.
Playing in the NBA is my biggest dream and I’m doing my best to make it true.
What’s the best part
about your game? What do you still need to work on?
I think that I’m strong offensively. I’ve been
working on my defense throughout the previous season. I also need to improve my
shot.
What do you expect
from Lietuvos Rytas?
It’s too early to talk about that. We’ll see
what team we have in the end of the summer. My role will depend on the coach
and what he think is best for me. I’ll do my best to help Lietuvos Rytas
achieve good results. I’m hoping we have a good season in Euroleague and the
goals in the Lithuanian championship will be high as always. There will be a
lot of games, it will be hard, but that’s our job.
Will you be coming to
Vilnius alone?
I still don’t know whether I will be coming with my girlfriend or my parents, but I will definitely not be alone. I’ll also bring my dog.
