101 Greats of European Basketball

top scorers of the Yugoslav League averaged below 30
points, and then by a small margin, just three times!
Those three times were all by Radmilo Misovic of Borac
Cacak, with 29.5 points in 1967-68, 28.2 points in 1968-
69 and 29.4 points in 1970-71. That league featured
some true scoring aces, ranging from Korac (38.0 ppg.
in 1958) to Misovic, Solman and Plecas and finally to
Dragan Kicanovic and Drazen Dalipagic.
On the eve of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Plecas
was pulled from the national team for a reason that
would seem incomprehensible today. He was kicked out
for “violating the principles of amateurism” because he
had featured in a commercial for tea! In the federation,
they were worried about the possible reaction by the
International Olympic Committee with American Avery
Brundage, who was very conservative, at the helm. Plecas
was convinced that it was some sort of scheme to
free one place for another player.
Over seven years, Plecas had been a fixture on the
national team, playing 215 games and scoring 1,315
points. After that, his relationship with Mirko Novosel, the
coach of the national team and, starting in the fall of 1976,
Cibona, got worse. After 10 years, 204 games and 5,404
points (26.5 per game!) in the Yugoslav League, Plecas
decided to leave Cibona. He signed for modest Kvarner Rijeka
and played at his usual level the first season, averaging
28.9 points. But in his second season there, he played
just nine games, and at 30 years old practically vanished
into thin air. With 6,192 points scored, he ranks seventh all
time and his scoring average is sixth all time.
Plecas was a scoring machine. Standing at 1.87 meters,
he was a shooting guard who could also play the
point because of his technique. He was a natural scorer
with a privileged touch. His shooting percentages were
always high and his numbers, impressive ... and without
three-pointers! With those, Plecas would have scored
even more. He was also a good rebounder, but his main
weapons were his shot and his penetration. He was able
to drive through the forests of arms and legs to find the
spot to score. Also, he was a fighter with strong character.
His special play was what they would call today the
Euro-step. Plecas patented that shot on the third step,
using the backboard a lot. He says that many coaches
tried to correct his “irregular shot” but Marijan Katineli,
his coach at Mladost and later at Lokomotiva, saw it as
an advantage and encouraged him to perfect it.
Ivica Dukan, who was a forward at Jugoplastika
Split for 11 years and has been with the Chicago Bulls
as assistant general manager for the last 20 years, told
me: “I agree with your list of best players from Zagreb.
Plecas was number one, a great player. I played against
him and I remember that it was very hard to stop him
because of his atypical shot, on the third step, without
any balance and from impossible angles.”
Plecas explained that he never lifted weights and
that his practices were always with the ball. He says
that in his era, offensive plays lasted from 7 to 11
seconds and now they take about 20 seconds. When
teams score 55 points, he says, everybody talks about
“good defense” and not about bad offense. His idols
were Ivo Daneu of Olimpija (because of his perfection
and vision), Miodrag Nikolic of OKK Belgrade (because
of his technique) and Pino Djerdja of Zadar (because of
his will, desire, hustle and leadership). Daneu was the
captain of the great Yugoslav team with whom Plecas
won the 1970 World Cup. But through his game, his
points and his artful baskets, Nikola Plecas earned a
place forever in the memories of those who were fortunate
enough to see him play.
It was a true privilege.
101 greats of european basketball
Nikola Plecas
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