The Serbian expert is beginning his second time in action as the coach of the Slovenian national basketball team. This is his first major tournament after last year’s successful qualifications. EuroBasket will begin in late August and will see Slovenia face off against Poland, Finland, Greece, Iceland, and France in Helsinki. If it ends up among the best four teams in its group, Slovenia will take part in playoffs in Istanbul. Kokoškov’s list includes 19 players, 17 of which are taking part in initial training.

Sixteen players took part in official presentation of the team in front of the Slovenian Basketball Association building. From there, the players will head to Zreče, where they will train until Sunday, which is their day off. Among the missing players was naturalized citizen Anthony Randolph, who will join the rest of the team this afternoon in Zreče. Also among the absent is captain Goran Dragić, who will only be able to join the team on August 1 because of NBA rules. According to the coach, Dragić is “currently vacationing with his family, where, being a true professional, he is taking part in individual training.” Žan Mark Šiško is also absent because he is playing with the under-20 team on the island of Crete. Most attention at the presentation went to Luka Dončić, who is a part of the national team for the first time. “Luka is here and is a part of the team. He shouldn’t feel pressure. It’s important that he establishes a rapport with the guys and that the team accepts him as one of the key players. Luka should just be Luka. He’s a young player with a huge potential.”
When presenting the team roster, Utah Jazz’s assistant coach said that he will also try out Erazem Lorbek. The experienced Ljubljana native hasn’t played in three years because of an injury, but is now making a comeback. One of Kokoškov’s assistants, Rade Trifunović, has worked with Lorbek. A day before the beginning of training, the Slovenian Basketball Association reported that the coach is counting on Lorbek: “If I didn’t believe that he could take part in EuroBasket, he wouldn’t be here.”
However, the beginning of joint training also saw a withdrawal. Kokoškov had included Tomaž Bolčina on the list. Even though his withdrawal is not a huge blow for the team given his quality, the coach said: “Each player lives his own life and makes his own decisions. He was on the list, but because of personal or business reasons, he decided not to join us. We’ll move on. I wouldn’t have put him on the list if we hadn’t had a serious strategy for him. It’s his decision. We’re not angry and we won’t hold a grudge. The summer is his, and playing for the national team is not a requirement. It’s a source of satisfaction and honor. If you don’t feel this, there’s no reason for you to be here.”

Tilen Jamnik; translated by J. B.