DRAGAN KICANOVIC - 101 Greats of European Basketball

Dragan
Kicanovic
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The Cacak genius
Probably the last thing that Zeljko Obradovic
and Vladimir Androic thought about
in the mid-1970s, when over a four-year
period they shared rooms on road trips
as Borac Cacak players, was that one day
they would coach against each other in the
Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Androic and Obradovic
are much more than two former teammates from a
humble team. They are close friends and best men
at each other’s weddings, a relationship that is very
important to Serbian people. Behind many technical
decisions made by Obradovic, there has been a
lot of advice sought from Androic. They have spent
summers together and engaged in long talks about
basketball.
The matchups in the 2011-12 EuroLeague between
these two men from Cacak – Obradovic on the Panathinaikos
bench and Androic on that of KK Zagreb – brought
to mind a true genius of the game who was born in the
same city and was also very important in the life of Obradovic.
That is none other than Dragan “Kicha” Kicanovic.
To me, he is one of the best three players from the
former Yugoslavia that I have ever seen – the other two
being Kresimir Cosic and Drazen Petrovic.
Kicha and Mirza, Gorizia 1971
Kicanovic was born on August 17, 1953, but before
him, Cacak had another huge star, scoring ace Radmilo
Misovic. His fame never crossed many borders, however,
because Misovic, due to his character, always stayed
close to home, close to Cacak. He liked to go fishing in
the Morava River and keep his quiet life rather than sign
for a big team in Belgrade or elsewhere. Misovic was
the Yugoslav League’s top scorer five times: 1968 (29.2
ppg.), 1969 (28.4), 1971 (29.3), 1972 (30.0) and 1974
(31.7). He played in Borac while Kicanovic started with
the other team from the city, the smaller and humbler
Zeleznicar. Like a diamond in the rough, Kicanovic was
selected by cadet national team coach Mirko Novosel
for the first U16 European Championship, played in
1971 in Gorizia, Italy. Along with him, the team had
other future stars, like Mirza Delibasic, Rajko Zizic and
Dragan Todoric. Yugoslavia became champion by defeating
Italy in the final 74-60. It was the first trophy
for Kicha. He finished as the team’s second-best scorer
with 90 points, behind only his friend Delibasic, with 99.
That same year, not yet of legal age and still a member
of a second-division team, Kicanovic made his debut
on the senior national team at the Mediterranean
Games in Izmir, Turkey. He played alongside world
champions like Damir Solman and Vinko Jelovac, as
well as with other future staples of the national team
Zarko Knezevic, Milun Marovic, Miroljub Damjanovic
and Dragi Ivkovic. Kicanovic scored his first 40 points
for the national team and won his second gold medal.
All the big teams wanted to sign him, but in Cacak
they managed to put Misovic and Kicanovic together.
“Kicha” signed for Borac and the 1971-72 season stays
in my memory because of the brilliant displays by
those two geniuses: one was a veteran, the other was
just starting his brilliant career. In the summer of 1972,
Kicanovic’s age group played the fifth U18 European
Championship in Zadar, another symbolic city for basketball.
Novosel was the coach of that team and – together
with Kicha, Mirza, Zizic and Todoric – new names
came on board: Zeljko Jerkov, Branko Macura and
101 greats of european basketball
Dragan Kicanovic
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Vladimir Stankovic
Cedomir Perincic. The results were seven wins in seven
games and a gold medal. Delibasic had 114 points, Kicanovic
90, Perincic 68.
Kicha and Praja in Belgrade
When landing in Partizan, Kicanovic was greeted by
Ranko Zeravica, the former coach of the national team
and the best pupil of the famous Professor Aleksandar
Nikolic. One year earlier, in 1971, Zeravica had managed
to sign Drazen Dalipagic, who had played football until
he was 15. Dalipagic’s nickname, Praja, came from a local
defensive player of the football team in Velez. That’s
how, in the summer of 1972, the best duo on the court
that I have probably ever seen, Kicha and Praja, was
born. They were never close friends. There was always
some kind of rivalry issue between them. But as the two
smart men that they were, they connected instantly on
the court. Simply put, they needed each other.
Dalipagic was a strong forward, great shooter and
spectacular jumper. Kicanovic was a super-smart guard
who could play at point for the full 40 minutes. He was
unstoppable in one-on-one situations and had great
court vision and shooting. There was no Partizan game
without some spectacular alley-oops by Dalipagic from
Kicanovic’s assists. They were the two idols who helped
Partizan win their first Yugoslav League title in 1976.
But they helped the national team even more. When
Mirko Novosel took the reins of the team for the 1973
EuroBasket in Barcelona, Spain, he called up several
young players. Of course, Kicanovic was among them.
So were Dalipagic and Zoran “Moka” Slavnic, who made
his debut at 24 years old. With the added experience
of Cosic, Rato Tvrdic, Nikola Plecas and Damir Solman,
Yugoslavia won its first European title. The following
year, Yugoslavia was second at the World Cup in Puerto
Rico. Kicanovic was the best player and best scorer on
the team with 139 points (19.9 per game), including 34
against Canada and 26 against the USA.
Kicha was a complete player, technically perfect. But
what makes the difference between a great talent and a
great player is the character. Kicanovic was a born winner
and a fighter; he didn’t like to lose at anything. He
had strong character and was willing to fight for victory,
no matter the circumstances. He didn’t fear hostile
atmospheres, either. His winning character could be
seen at the EuroBasket 1975 final at the legendary Pionir
Arena in Belgrade. The game was against the USSR
and after 39 tight minutes, Yugoslavia led 86-84. The
ball reached Kicha, who drove past, if memory serves,
Aleksander Salnikov. He pulled up and with his perfect
shot decided the game with his 22nd point of the night.
At the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Kicanovic won the
silver medal. In 1977 he made it a three-peat with Yugoslavia
by winning the EuroBasket final in Liege against
the USSR. That game featured a famous “volleyball”
passing scene between Kicha and Slavnic, in which they
tapped the ball back and forth to each other a few times
without either actually catching or holding it, to fool the
defense. In the 1978 World Cup in Manila, he and Dalipagic
led Yugoslavia to another title. Praja finished with
an average of 22.2 points and Kicha with 18.2.
At the club level, after winning its first Yugoslav
League title in 1976, Partizan also took its first European
trophy on March 21, 1978, after an unforgettable Korac
Cup final in Banja Luka against Bosna Sarajevo. The game
ended 117-110 after overtime. The end of regulation time
showed a 101-101 score. It was an offensive festival,
with 48 points by Dalipagic, 33 by Kicanovic and 21 by
Misko Maric. For Bosna, Mirza Delibasic had 33 points,
Zarko Varajic 22, Ratko Radovanovic 20 and Svetislav
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Pesic 14. That season Bosna won the domestic league
and the following year it took the EuroLeague crown. In
1979, Partizan also won the Korac Cup, defeating Arrigoni
of Italy 109-98 in the final played at Pionir Arena. The
hero was, of course, Kicanovic, who scored 41 points
despite playing injured and covering for the also-injured
Dalipagic. Pionir gave a standing ovation to Kicha for a
great win against a great rival, led by the American duo
of Cliff Meely (30 points) and Willie Sojourner (29), alongside
Roberto Brunamonti (12 points).
Olympic champion
At the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, without no U.S.
team, Yugoslavia won the gold medal with Kicanovic
and Dalipagic as leaders. In 1981 and 1982, Gazzetta
dello Sport of Italy elected Kicha as the player of the
year in its prestigious survey. In 1981, he won the Yugoslav
League with Partizan and the silver medal with
the national team at EuroBasket in Prague. When the
summer of 1981 arrived, Kicanovic accepted the call
from Petar Skansi, an assistant to Professor Nikolic
with the national team in 1978 in Manila and the head
coach at the 1979 EuroBasket. As a result, Kicanovic
joined Scavolini Pesaro in Italy, a team that also signed
his national teammate Zeljko Jerkov. He played two
seasons there, averaging 23.4 points, 3.4 assists and
2.8 rebounds in 72 Italian League games. At the 1982
World Cup in Colombia, Kicanovic won the bronze medal.
He then won the Saporta Cup with Scavolini against
ASVEL in a 111-99 final, scoring 31.
That same year, after a seventh-place finish for
Yugoslavia at the EuroBasket in France, and a big fight
with Italy, Kicanovic decided to leave that country. He
signed for Racing Paris, but in the spring of 1984, at 30
years and 8 months old, he decided to retire. It was a
shame because he could have surely played well for
longer, but it was a personal choice. Behind him, he left
216 games with the Yugoslav national team and 3,330
points (which ranked second after Dalipagic, with 3,700,
although Kicanovic player fewer years. He collected 10
medals – five gold, three silver and two bronze – with
the national team. At Partizan, he played 167 games
and scored 4,699 points (28.1 ppg.).
After retiring, Kicanovic was the sports director
at Partizan, where his masterpiece was the European
crown of 1992. To reach that goal he worked hard for
many years and signed players like Vlade Divac, Zarko
Paspalj, Goran Grbovic, Ivo Nakic and Zeljko Rebraca. He
had the patience to nurture the talents of Djordjevic and
Predrag Danilovic. He convinced his friend Zeljko Obradovic
to put an end to his playing career at 31 years old
and become a head coach almost overnight. As in the
game itself, Kicha had great vision. In his life after basketball,
during a brief stint, he was Minister of Sports in Serbia
and for eight years was the president of the Serbian
Olympic committee. He was inducted into the FIBA Hall
of Fame and deserves to be in the one in Springfield, too,
where Dalipagic, his great teammate for Partizan and the
Yugoslav national team, already is.
On a personal note, it remains a regret of mine that
Dragan Kicanovic was not included in the list of 35 players
that were recognized by Euroleague Basketball to
celebrate the competition’s 50th anniversary. The jury
was more than qualified, but the genius of Kicanovic
escaped their decision. It’s true that he didn’t win any
EuroLeague titles, that he didn’t play for any big teams
in Europe, and that he retired young. But he was one of
the Greats, with a capital G.
101 greats of european basketball
Dragan Kicanovic
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