Surprise of the Year. A contrived title, obviously. And, frankly, not a very apt one for this team, given the number of new faces we have: whatever happens is likely to be somewhat of a surprise. However, Hazdic is a true freshman, and as such might not be expected to be a huge contributor. But I am going to predict that he will play a significant role on this team. I base that on two reasons.
First, he already has spent a semester with the team, so he is ahead of the game on learning Flanigan's system. Second, he comes from a basketball family, with his father having coached the Bosnian national team and having won a bronze medal in the Olympics. Third, he has had international experience, having played for three seasons for the Bosnian national team. In 2013 he averaged over 13 minutes per game for the 16-and-under team and averaged 6.6 points per game.
Hadzic will have to overcome the "soft" tendencies of European big men, but there is a spot on this team for him if he works hard and is coachable. Having had a coach for a dad, I am guessing that he is.
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