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Antonio Vrankovic may be in the NBA soon...

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jamsession3

All-Conference
Dec 4, 2005
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I'm sitting here watching this guy play for the Crotian team, and I'm impressed. He runs the floor well and nice touch near the rim...

...yes this is Summer League, however, he is showing many of us something that didn't take place at Duke.
 
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sheyduke

All-American
Apr 13, 2010
13,476
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Big V will play overseas but not in the league.

Which money is still money and can make a lot overseas
 
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jimlsumner

All-Conference
Oct 30, 2003
3,735
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Vrankovic was offered a chance to redshirt as a freshman. He declined. The plan has always been to stay at Duke for four years, get a Duke degree, get played-for-Coach-K on his resume and then go back to Croatia and play in the Euro leagues for as long as he can.

And then he has that Duke degree.

Not a bad plan. Not bad at all.
 
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SoCal_Dukie3

All-Conference
Jul 8, 2017
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Agreed. I know it’s a small sample size but UNC struggled to stop he and Z working the paint in the 1st half of the ACC tourney game. He actually opened things up for Z versus clogging the lane more. Would have loved to see that combo against MSU.
 
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christophero

Heisman
May 2, 2017
16,649
20,012
113
jamsession3 said:
The kid should've redshirt. He could've been used a lot this year.
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I was just thinking that. We could use him even more next year, not that it is possible. Vrank in some ways was the perfect college back up center. He just had the misfortune of coming to Duke and playing behind lottery picks. He probably would have done better at a smaller school or maybe a place like Wisconsin, although he did get a Duke degree. I always thought he was solid when he played.
 
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hart2chesson

Heisman
Oct 13, 2012
14,303
16,574
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christophero said:
I was just thinking that. We could use him even more next year, not that it is possible. Vrank in some ways was the perfect college back up center. He just had the misfortune of coming to Duke and playing behind lottery picks. He probably would have done better at a smaller school or maybe a place like Wisconsin, although he did get a Duke degree. I always thought he was solid when he played.
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Seemed like a "solid" kid too, and understood his role. OFC
 
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dukiejay

Heisman
Mar 2, 2005
11,293
16,311
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SoCal_Dukie3 said:
Agreed. I know it’s a small sample size but UNC struggled to stop he and Z working the paint in the 1st half of the ACC tourney game. He actually opened things up for Z versus clogging the lane more. Would have loved to see that combo against MSU.
Click to expand...

I think a lot of that had to do with general unpreparedness on UNC's part....basically, playing Antonio really caught them off guard. He didn't see much action in the second half because UNC was able to go back and game plan a bit for it. Antonio is pretty skilled, he's just not very mobile. When UNC got him away from the basket they were more productive.

Antonio is going to be able to play for a long time overseas and with the Croatian national team. He'll be a household name over there just like his father before him.
 
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hart2chesson

Heisman
Oct 13, 2012
14,303
16,574
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SoCal_Dukie3 said:
Agreed. I know it’s a small sample size but UNC struggled to stop he and Z working the paint in the 1st half of the ACC tourney game. He actually opened things up for Z versus clogging the lane more. Would have loved to see that combo against MSU.
Click to expand...

Good observation So Cal! OFC
 
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dukiejay

Heisman
Mar 2, 2005
11,293
16,311
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bullcity gamer said:
Vrankovich never hurt Duke when he played. He never tried doing anything outside of his capabilities and like one of the posters alluded to above he understood his role and seemed like a very good teammate. Best of Luck to Big V!
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Just following social media you can tell what his teammates thought of him. And you're right....Antonio was always about the name on the front of the jersey. He always knew it was going to be a long shot as a major contributor at Duke....but like Jim said above, he has 'played at Duke' on his resume and a degree from said school. Like I said, he's going to follow in his father's footsteps and make a legacy for himself overseas.
 
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AlanInNJ

All-Conference
Feb 25, 2014
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I am at a trade show all week, and I was killing some time watching the Croatia team play the other day. Vrank looked really good running the floor, rebounding and even making a nice little hook shot. I agree with those who say he was a teammate who knew his role and made the best of his time on the court and made those around him better. I wish him all the success in the world representing Duke proudly no matter where he plays.
 
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SoCal_Dukie3

All-Conference
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dukiejay said:
I think a lot of that had to do with general unpreparedness on UNC's part....basically, playing Antonio really caught them off guard. He didn't see much action in the second half because UNC was able to go back and game plan a bit for it. Antonio is pretty skilled, he's just not very mobile. When UNC got him away from the basket they were more productive.

Antonio is going to be able to play for a long time overseas and with the Croatian national team. He'll be a household name over there just like his father before him.
Click to expand...

I agree somewhat, but IIRC K went back even before UNC had any momentum (basically start of 2nd half). He def was immobile but he passed well, high/low and even in kick outs. Guess it’s pointless now but I wish we had a bigger sample size. I think he would have cleared more space for Z in the lane.
 
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