Sixers rookie Vucevic honing skills in Europe

BERLIN - Nikola Vucevic is being banged around by former Notre Dame center Torin Francis. Then veteran Derrick Allen, from the University of Mississippi, takes his turn as German team Alba Berlin ends up beating Vucevic's Montenegro club, Buducnost Voli, in a recent Eurocup game.

Vucevic, 21, struggled to only nine points on 3-for-10 shooting and four rebounds that day, but he did show glimpses of why the 76ers selected the Southern California product with their first-round pick, with three blocks and a three-pointer.

"I feel like I have improved since my last game at USC," said Vucevic, selected at No. 16 last June. "What really helped me was the work I put in to prepare for the draft. I really worked hard every day, twice a day on my conditioning and skills and my shooting and everything."

Vucevic, a 6-11 forward/center, moved from Belgium to Montenegro with his family as a teenager, so when he was looking to start his professional career in Europe during the NBA lockout, playing in Montenegro made the most sense.

His contract has an opt-out clause that will allow him to join the Sixers for training camp when he is signed. The Sixers like that he is a solid rebounder and a good outside shooter with a high knowledge of the game, but also have high hopes for what he can become.

Vucevic averaged 11.1 points and eight rebounds a game in three seasons at USC. Last season, those numbers were 17.1, 10.3.

"I feel ready," he said. "If the NBA were to start tomorrow, I would be ready to go."

Vucevic has played in several different competitions thus far: one game in the qualification for the Euroleague - Europe's top club competition; two games in the Eurocup - the second-best continent event; as well as eight games in the Adriatic League, made up of teams from nations in the Adriatic Sea region such as Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia.

In the Euroleague, Vucevic scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds playing against Lietuvos Rytas and Lithuanian star Jonas Valanciunas, the fifth overall draft pick by the Toronto Raptors.

In the Eurocup, against Polish club PGE Turow, Vucevic had 18 points and eight rebounds against the trio of St. Mary's Daniel Kickert, Kent State's John Edwards and Ohio State's Dallas Lauderdale.

But Vucevic really has dominated in the Adriatic League, averaging 17.4 points on 61 percent shooting and 10.4 rebounds. Among the performances were four double-doubles, including 16 points and 18 rebounds against Red Star Belgrade, and 21 points and 20 rebounds against Slovenian team Krka Novo Mesto. Against Cibona Zagreb, of Croatia, Vucevic scored 30 points on 11-for-11 from inside the arc, nine rebounds and three assists.

Among the other big men Vucevic has faced are former NBA players Sean May and Mario Kasun; NBA second-round picks Jerome Jordan, Haywood Owens and Lawrence Roberts; as well as former Michigan State center Goran Suton and Greece's massive national team center, Sofoklis Schortsanitis.

"We play good games against good teams with a lot of experienced players, which I really needed because in college there were only young players," Vucevic said in his even-keeled, almost subdued manner. "It's different. Here there are a lot of experienced guys. You can only learn from that, and I feel like I have improved a lot.

"We work hard here. We practice hard. We play a lot of games. I feel ready. I'm in good shape. I play a lot of minutes here, and I don't get really tired, so it's good.''

Vucevic, who was born in Switzerland and moved to Belgium at the age of 2, comes from a basketball family. His mother, Ljiljana, played for the Yugoslavian national team, while his father, Borislav "Boro'' Vucevic, won the Euroleague crown in 1979 with the club Bosna. The elder Vucevic also played for Yugoslavia at the 1985 European Championship alongside legendary Drazen Petrovic.

Nikola has his father's work ethic and has spent a lot of time since the draft working on improving his game. Before the lockout, Vucevic spoke with 76ers management about what he should work on.

"The main thing I am really working on is my jump shot," he said.

"I already think that I have gotten better than I was. If I can just keep getting better at that, that will help me get more versatile, and it will be harder for guys to guard me, because I can score from different positions."

Vucevic said he also is working on his strength and conditioning.

"Just being in shape and be able to play a lot of minutes, and go up and down,'' he said. "The NBA style is a lot of running, and you have to be in good shape to play for 82 games. Well, this season will be less. But in the future."

The main thing for Vucevic is that he finally can begin his NBA career. He acknowledged the lockout was "a little frustrating."

"I have been working for it for so long," he said. "Since I was young, my dream was to play in the NBA. And then that finally happens and then I have to wait."

Not much longer now.