Mario Hezonja is still something of a role player for his national team. But he can still add a lot to a team hoping to make its mark in Rio at the Olympics.
The Olympics do not officially begin until Friday with the opening ceremonies. There will be a few soccer games played Wednesday and Thursday as the two-week sports extravaganza kicks off.
The basketball competition is already looking pretty decided. Team USA, while not nearly as strong as they have been in Olympics past, appears to be the clear favorite to win once again. Their talent is likely going to overwhelm opponents as coach Mike Krzyzewski continues to have his team press and trap, using their superior depth and athleticism.
Each Olympics brings its own challenge. Nothing will be locked in for Team USA. And there are certainly some strong teams in the Olympic field.
Croatia is a dark horse to win a medal. They have the eighth best odds to win, according to OddsShark, going at 50-to-1 odds. The U.S. are the odds on favorite. The young Croatian team will have its work cut out for it.
They are an intriguing team though. Mario Hezonja certain is in with an intriguing group. They won the Olympic Qualifying Tournament over Italy in overtime on the road in early July. It was a major victory for the country. This will give them some incredible experience.
Croatia has won only one medal in its history at the Olympics, losing in the final to the original Dream Team in 1992. Since then, Croatia qualified in 1996 and only again in 2008. Making the Olympics this year was a big accomplishment for the program.
Hezonja is an important part of that and an important part of the team’s future. But he is not the headliner though.
That belongs to Bojan Bogdanovic and Dario Saric. They largely dominate the ball and score at will. Bogdanovic scored 24.3 points per game on 39.1 percent shooting (17.3 field goal attempts per game) to lead all scorers in the short tournament and Saric had 14.0 points per game as the team’s primary playmaker.
Hezonja is largely relegated to being a spot-up shooter with Croatia. He scored 4.5 points per game on 6-for-21 shooting. It was a disappointing offensive performance. But hardly surprising considering how little he was involved.
He had some freedom to create for others, but often was not on the ball. Defensively, Hezonja was solid and got his minutes because of what he contributed there and the threat of him as a 3-point shooter.
It was a frustrating tournament to watch. Croatia can be a frustrating team to watch with its extreme isolation play on offense. There is not a lot of movement at all.
Croatia prepared for the Olympics with games against France and Serbia. It is unclear how well Hezonja played in these games.
In a game against Argentina last Friday, Hezonja scored 17 points. He looked good attacking the basket and was making his shots. Getting him involved and on the move is the best way engage him and make him effective on offense.
Hezonja, like he did in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, will have some games where he looks really good. He can get hot and make shots. That is about where Hezonja was last year. His coaches do not seem able to keep him engaged and active offensively.
Hezonja missed Croatia’s final friendly with an injury though after taking a nasty fall. The court may not have been well maintained as there were several wet spots. Hezonja apparently got up cursing after slipping at one point in the game against France.
He was still able to do some damage before leaving the game against France.
Hezonja will have to do a lot more on his own to stay active. His teammates will find him when he is open, like Dario Saric did here in transition against France.
Without much further news though, it is unclear what Hezonja’s status is for the opening game for Croatia in the Olympics.
Croatia is in Group B, opposite the United States. They will start their Olympic run against Spain on Sunday at 5 p.m. on NBC Sports Network. The rest of their schedule is below:
Aug. 7 vs. Spain, 5 p.m. ET/NBCSN
Aug. 9 vs. Argentina, 9:30 p.m. ET/Olympic Basketball Channel
Aug. 11 vs. Brazil, 1 p.m. ET/USA
Aug. 13 vs. Nigeria, 9:30 p.m. ET/Olympic Basketball Channel
Aug. 15 vs. Lithuania, 9:30 p.m. ET/Olympic Basketball Channel
Hezonja is not likely to be a star for Croatia. He is not going to post gaudy stats. He may have a big game here or there. He will be relied on to help spread the floor and attack when the time is right. Hezonja though still plays a role and nothing more for this team.
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Hopefully Hezonja is ready to go for Sunday’s opener and has a solid tournament for a Croatian team that is excited to be back in the Olympics. Likely the first of a string of Olympic appearances with its relative youth at key positions.