101 Greats of European Basketball

Vladimir Stankovic
rebounds with excellent numbers from the arc: 46 of
98 for a 47% accuracy rate. Not bad for a 21-year-old
forward standing 2.05 meters.
Three-time Euroleague champ
In Italy, in February of 2001, Smodis won his first
title: the Italian Cup. In the first edition of the modern
EuroLeague, he played 21 games with a little over 15
minutes on the court, averaging 7.5 points and 2.2 rebounds.
His personal high was 23 points against Spirou
Charleroi. However, playing alongside Manu Ginobili,
Alessandro Abbio, David Andersen, Antoine Rigaudeau,
Alessandro Frosini and Marko Jaric, Smodis’ role was
to learn, evolve and help as much as he could. In the EuroLeague’s
five-game final series against Tau Ceramica,
Smodis totaled 36 points and won his first EuroLeague
title.
Right after that, Kinder also won the Italian League
for the triple crown, so Smodis’ first year in Italy could
not have been better. During the next two seasons, he
just managed to win one more Italian Cup title, in 2002,
the same year that he and Kinder were runners-up
for the EuroLeague title. But then Kinder had financial
problems and, in the summer of 2003, Smodis joined
Fortitudo, the eternal cross-town rival. His decision was
not welcomed by the fans of either side, but thanks to
his professionalism, he won the hearts of the Fortitudo
fans soon enough. He took his new team to the EuroLeague
Final Four in Tel Aviv, but Maccabi was way superior
and won 118-74. On top of that, Smodis played one
of the worst important games in his career: 2 points
and 0 rebounds in 14 minutes.
After five years and 167 games in Italy, averaging
10.1 points and 4.7 rebounds, Smodis decided to
change countries and climate. He moved to Russia,
signed by CSKA Moscow, by express petition from
Coach Messina, who explained:
“When I signed for CSKA in the summer of 2005,
I asked my president, Sergey Kushchenko, for three
players to try to win the EuroLeague: Trajan Langdon,
David Vanterpool and Matjaz. It was not easy, because
there was another big club that wanted to sign him, but
we made it. If Matjaz had not been with us during those
wonderful years, CSKA would not have won two Euro-
League titles after 35 years.”
For his part, in an interview published on April 15,
2009, Smodis said about Messina:
“He’s a great teacher, a great coach, and surely
someone who has helped me, and not just on the court,
but also growing up as a person. As I grow on the court,
I also grow off the court. Basically, it has been a learning
experience with him, and for sure he’s a big part of my
life. I am very grateful to be able to work with him.”
Smodis was always one of those players who rarely
disappointed or failed to meet expectations. He had
the character of a warrior, but you need more than your
character to score points and grab rebounds. He also
had the talent and physical strength. He could play
close to the rim or away from it. During many seasons,
his percentage from beyond the arc was above 40%.
He was a versatile player, a fighter, a leader like Messina
says. At the end of his first season with CSKA, he added
another triple crown: the Russian League, the Russian
Cup and, 35 years after CSKA had last won it, the Euro-
League crown, the second for Smodis.
In the 2006 Final Four in Prague, CSKA defeated FC
Barcelona in the semis, 85-74, with 17 points and 12
rebounds from Smodis, who performed well over his
season averages of 12 points and 5.5 boards. In the title
game against Maccabi, won by the score of 73-69, he
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