Zupan finally tastes the 'honey and milk'

LONDON (The Friday Eurovision) - Does anyone remember the interview on FIBA.com back in May with Union Olimpija's Miha Zupan?

He's a 2.05m center at Union Olimpija who turned 25 in September and at the time was in the reckoning for a place in Slovenia's EuroBasket squad, something he did not make.

What I remember most about the interview was a crestfallen Zupan after he he'd been told he couldn't run onto the floor for his first Euroleague game.

This was the problem.

Zupan was a player at Geoplin Slovan and moved to rivals Olimpija before last season.

Slovan took Olimpija to court, claiming Zupan was still under contract with them and argued that he should not be allowed to compete, which kept him out of the Euroleague.

"All my life, my dream was to come to Union Olimpija and play in the Euroleague," Zupan said at the time.

"It was very, very depressing. Probably, this was the worst day of my life. I could not understand it - how could they not let me play? It was very hard for me to understand."

The story had special significance because Zupan would have made history as the first deaf player ever to appear in the Euroleague.

"... too bad the Euroleague was finished before I could play again," he said at the time. 

Zupan waited, and it finally paid off because with this season's Euroleague having started, not only is he playing, but he's making quite an impact as well.

On Thursday in front of the fans in Ljubljana, Zupan made all five of his shots inside the arc and connected on one of two from long range.

He finished with 14 points in 21 minutes as Union Olimpija upset Olympiacos 87-78.

This afternoon, desperate to get a comment about Zupan's performance, I called Luka Maselj, who conducted that interview in May, and asked him to get a comment from someone at the club.

He spoke to club director Janez Rajgelj and had this interview.

Luka (on behalf of FIBA), take it away.

FIBA: "Mr Rajgelj, Miha was one of Union Olimpija's heroes on Thursday against Olympiacos. How did you see his display?"

Rajgelj: "It was very good. Those kind of displays are what we expect from him. I hope he will continue the season in this way, because this was only his first really good performance this season. It's all up to him."

FIBA: "Do you think playing in the EuroLeague was one of the reasons why he is the only player that stayed in Ljubljana from last year's team?"

Rajgelj: "He has the potential to play EuroLeague, so he decided to stay. It was probably not decisive, but it was one of the motives. He is very proud of being the first deaf player to play in the EuroLeague. But he also had a contract with Olimpija."

FIBA: "He could have been the first deaf player to play in the EuroLeague a year sooner, but he couldn't play because of a legal feud between Union Olimpija and Geoplin Slovan. You were at Geoplin Slovan at that moment and in a way you are the reason he didn't make his debut sooner. Did you feel bad about it?"

Rajgelj: "Business is business. Miha didn't know what he was doing when he moved from Geoplin Slovan to Union Olimpija in the way he did. He believed some people who promised him "honey and milk", but he was wrong to do it. The court decided that and we - since I am now at Union Olimpija - must still pay Geoplin Slovan some money for him."

FIBA: "Apart from basketball, what do you think about Miha?"

Rajgelj: "I have known him for very long. Miha is a very nice person, very honest - maybe even too honest for the cruel world of professional basketball. He is a family man, has a wife and child. I must also add that he has great physical body for basketball and also a feeling to play the game. His future development is all in his hands - he will need to concentrate more on playing. Even though he is deaf, he still has a chance to reach the top level, but he has to take that decision in his head. Too bad that he started playing "real" basketball when he was already 18. When Goran Dragic was 14, he knew that in about four years he was going to be a professional player. Miha missed out on a lot of training, but with this talent, he can be top class. It's all up to him."

FIBA: "Miha, good luck from all of us!"