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Inside The Huskies

Huskies' Dzepina, Serbs Advance To Eurobasket Title Game

The power forward is averaging 14.5 points per game in six outings.
Dan Raley|
Niko Dzepina dribbles past a Spanish defender.
Niko Dzepina dribbles past a Spanish defender. | FIBA

Making the most of his trip home to Europe, Nikola Dzepina and his Serbian national team on Saturday remained unbeaten and advanced to the championship game of the FIBA U20 Eurobasket tournament in Slovenia.

With the University of Washington power forward chipping in 12 points and 5 rebounds, the Serbs beat Spain 72-65 in the semifinals and now play hosting Slovenia with the title on the line. Slovenia earned a final-game berth with a 91-89 victory over France.

Playing efficiently throughout the semis match-up, the 6-foot-10 Dzepina connected on 4 of 8 shots and came up with a game-high 5 blocks and added 4 assists.

If he can transfer that sort of performance over to Montlake, Danny Sprinkle's rebuilding Huskies might not be in for such a tough season ahead as some are forecasting.

The sophomore growth of Dzepina in the Big Ten, of course, will be key to all that happens this coming winter at Alaska Airlines Arena.

NIko Dzepina goes for a reverse lay-in against Spain.
NIko Dzepina goes for a reverse lay-in against Spain. | FIBA

Playing in a time zone nine hours ahead of Seattle, Dzepina and his Serbian teammates won their sixth Eurobasket game in as many outings.

They wasted no time in setting the tone with Spain by jumping to a 25-11 lead in the first quarter and making the other side play catch-up the remainder of the game.

The Serbian U20 team celebrates making the Eurobasket title game.
The Serbian U20 team celebrates making the Eurobasket title game. | FIBA

Dzepina, who held a deep reserve role for the UW last winter, continues to show steady maturation in his game.

He's scored in double figures in all but one tournament outing and is averaging 14.5 points per game.

Likewise, he's averaging 6.1 rebounds an outing and his 5-block defensive showing against Spain was an added bonus.

Last December, Dzepina arrived in Seattle and enrolled in school only to play sparingly, sitting out 10 games entirely.

Like any college freshman, he needed a period of adjustment in dealing with a much more physical Big Ten game.

However, he did come out and make his first UW career shot, a 3-pointer against Southern Utah.

Sprinkle, who reportedly traveled to Slovenia to watch Dzepina and recruit other players, has great hopes for Dzepina with his size, outside shooting ability and international savvy.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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