Fedor Zugic grabbed his spot in European basketball history when he became the youngster player to debut in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a milestone that continues motivating the Buducnost VOLI Podgorica talent to do great things – next up, in the 7DAYS EuroCup.
Spotlight: Milestone motivates Buducnost's Zugic
Player Spotlight
8 mins read
Fedor Zugic grabbed his spot in European basketball history when he became the youngster player to debut in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a milestone that continues motivating the Buducnost VOLI Podgorica talent to do great things – next up, in the 7DAYS EuroCup.
The Kotor native entered EuroLeague's record books on February 22, 2019, when he came onto the court of Buducnost's game against Zalgiris Kaunas for the final 41.2 seconds. By doing so, he set the new mark for the youngest player in the history of the competition at 15 years and 157 days old.
"It was amazing, the first time, playing in a huge Zalgirio Arena that was packed with fans all around," said Zugic, who overtook the previous mark, by Partizan Belgrade's Srdjan Zivkovic, by 45 days. "I was a little bit scared, but overall it was one of the best moments in my life."
Etching his name into EuroLeague's record books at such an early age definitely meant a lot to Zugic, who began his EuroLeague career at just a bit younger age than the likes of Manu Markioshvili, Ricky Rubio, Uros Tripkovic, Dzanan Musa, Enes Kanter, Marco Belinelli and Luka Doncic.
"I am really proud of that. To be able to write history like that and be mentioned among the youngest players in the EuroLeague with some of them in NBA is amazing. It just motivates me to work harder," he said.
"It was amazing, the first time, playing in a huge Zalgirio Arena that was packed with fans all around,"
Well before he stepped onto the court in Kaunas in February 2019, Zugic was starring for Montenegro at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2018. He torched Israel for 29 points and then poured in 30 points against Georgia and ended up averaging 18.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.9 steals. He was the second-leading scorer in the tournament behind Italian Sasha Grant, who has already played 11 EuroLeague games for FC Bayern Munich. But Zugic was a generation younger than the tournament's 2002-born players and was still a month shy of his 15th birthday when the event ended.
"I am really competitive, and that's what I really expect of myself: to perform well every time, to give my best and be one of the best. That is what is keeping me motivated all the time," Zugic explained.
His strong performance did not come without disappointment, though, as Montenegro ended up finishing 14th in the competition and was relegated to the U16 European Championship Division B for the following summer.
"It was a tough tournament for us. We really gave our best at the moment, but it wasn't enough. But I think that is only one reason more to perform even better next time," he said.
Zugic's maiden EuroLeague game was actually his first professional game for Buducnost as he was playing the 2018-19 with Studenski Centar Podgorica in the Montenegro League until late April 2019. He ended up averaging 7.3 points and 0.9 rebounds in 15 games for Studensk Centar and 5.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in nine games for Buducnost.
For the 2019-20 season, Buducnost let Zugic focus on improving with Studensk Centar, with whom he averaged 11.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 13 games. He did appear in three Adriatic League games for Buducnost, compiling 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist in 15 minutes.
"I was part of the both teams but was mostly playing with Studenstk Centar. That really helped me get the experience I needed and really helped me enter pro basketball in a proper way and for that I am most thankful to my coach, Nenad Trajkovic," Zugic said.
"I am really competitive, and that's what I really expect of myself: to perform well every time, to give my best and be one of the best. That is what is keeping me motivated all the time,"
One of the biggest highlights last season for Zugic took place in southern Germany as Buducnost loaned the talented guard to U18 Stellazzurra Rome to play at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Munich. Despite being new to the team, he collected 18.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists and helped Stellazzurra reach the first-place game. But his 26 points including 6 three-pointers were not enough in a 104-88 loss to U18 Real Madrid.
"It was one of the best things that happened to me last year: a lot of good basketball, memories and friends. I am thankful that Stellaazzura gave me the chance to compete in such a big tournament, but most of all I am thankful to coach Germano D'Arcangeli, who accepted me as one of his own and really helped me perform the way I did and help the team reach the first-place game."
Zugic's season ended in late February with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. He spent the summer trying to stay as close to the game as possible.
"I just continued practicing as usual, at home and in open gyms that I could find at the time. It was a tough period for everybody, but it helped me work on myself. So I think I made the most of it," he said.
Zugic came into the new season knowing he would be playing for Buducnost exclusively, which also meant his debut in the EuroCup. Now 17, he has played 10 minutes or more in four EuroCup games, including the last two of the regular season, with 18 and 23 minutes. He produced with 9 points against Boulogne Metropolitians 92 and picked up 14 points versus Mornar Bar.
"I still have so much to learn from games and practices, and what better way to learn than to play against tough opponents?" he says. "This is my first season and to be able to really help my team out and to experience the EuroCup in a very competitive way for me is amazing."
All told, Zugic has averaged 4.6 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.5 assists in nearly 13 minutes per game of EuroCup action. In the Adriatic League, Zugic nailed 6 three-pointers in scoring 20 points against Cibona in November, becoming only the seventh player under 18 years old to score 20 or more points in a game in that league. The others are Dzanan Musa, Roko Leni Ukic, Nikola Ivanovic, Roko Prkacin, Nemanja Aleksandrov, Nihad Dedovic, Vanja Marinkovic.
"I always dreamt about being a part of our first national team. It was a huge honor for me,"
"It means a huge deal to me to be in there with those names for sure, but that is something that I have worked for and that's something I expect of myself every time," Zugic, who is averaging 3.9 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists in the ABA League this season.
November 2020 also saw Zugic selected to the Montenegro national team for the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 Qualifiers.
"I always dreamt about being a part of our first national team. It was a huge honor for me," said Zugic, who did not manage to get into either of the games against Germany or Great Britain.
"I got to meet a lot of great new people there, make some new friends and learn more about basketball. The next step is to be able to help my team both on and off the court."
Zugic's 2020 also saw his performance help Buducnost reach the Top 16, another major step for him.
"It means a lot. It's just my first season with the pro team and to be able to be part of that is just amazing. I hope we continue in the same direction," he said.
Things in Group G will not be easy with the opponents being Virtus Segafredo Bologna, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana and JL Bourg en Breese. "It's a tough group with tough teams and a lot of good players. We have Virtus which is undefeated until now, and every other team was performing good this season and it resulted in them being here.We are looking forward to new challenges and we are not going to back down from anybody," he said.
While Zugic may not back down from anybody, there was something that has kept him from playing in the Top 16 so far. He contracted COVID-19 and was in quarantined for 15 days and had just returned to practice when the phase starated.
"It was a tough time being away from the court and not being able to do anything. But I really used that time to reflect on my past games, to look where I need to improve and how to be better. I used that time also to rest, and now I am ready to continue the season where I left off."
As motivated as ever.