Oregon State junior never intended to stay this long

By Cliff Kirkpatrick
Corvallis Gazette-Times

CORVALLIS — European basketball players at Sasa Cuic’s level don’t usually stay around the college game long before returning home for the pro game.

Rumors of Cuic possibly leaving started last season when he wasn’t clear about his intentions in an interview, and escalated when he was suspended two games for not putting the team first.

Going home after one year was the idea when he first arrived, anyway.

Cuic’s plans changed as he spent time with the Oregon State men’s basketball team. He realized this was the best experience of his life, which includes living through a war and leaving his Croatian home at an early age.

“When I heard about the (OSU scholarship) offer, I said no,” Cuic said. “I want to play professionally. I didn’t want to go back to school. The more I thought about it, Oregon State is a Pac-10 team. I saw the tradition, and exposure you got. It’s not a bad deal. But I thought it was for one year, and then I’d sign with an agent and go back to Europe.”

Cuic is in his junior season, and the forward is one of the leaders after a breakout season averaging 13.5 points a game last season.

He plays more of an all-around game now. The European style is offense, offense and more offense. Cuic developed an inside game and thinks about defense now that he’s with the Beavers.

“Once I found out what Corvallis was, the coaches and the players, I decided to stay for the whole thing,” Cuic said. “This is the first place I’ve stayed for more than one year. This is the third year for me. And I didn’t even expect it.”

Change has been part of his life since he was 8 when the four-year Croatian War of Independence began in 1991 with Croatia’s quest to secede from Yugoslavia.

It was a brutal war that started out politically motivated and turned nasty with ethnic and religious differences.

“I remember all that stuff,” Cuic said. “A lot of my family was in it. I lost two uncles in the war who were killed. My grandpa on my mom’s side went through some difficult stuff. He was never the same after the war. He was sick. We lost a lot of property, a lot of land, a lot of wealth. It was hard times.”

His family hid in shelters as their city was shelled from artillery fire. At one point relatives were trapped in Serbian territory and they went to get them out. Cuic had to go because it wasn’t safe to leave a 10-year-old behind.

There were carcasses of animals blocking the road and his family had to move them to proceed. Human bodies littered the roadside. His mother tried to shield his eyes, but he still saw them.

“None of us will be able to understand what those kids saw and heard and learned from their relatives,” coach Jay John said.

As his hometown of Rijeka was going to become the battlefront with a line of tanks headed his way, the Croatian Army turned the tide 30 miles to the east.

The war ended in the summer of 1995, beginning a long rebuilding process.

“Some parts of Croatia are not rebuilt and probably never will,” Cuic said. “It left a big impact. My mom lost her house where she grew up. The family had to move out. We are trying to do our best to build that back up and get life back up there. A lot of my family moved out and won’t go back.”

In an attempt to return to a normal life, basketball became Cuic’s outlet. He became serious at 14. He was a tall eighth grader, and people suggested using his asset on the court.

There were many times he quit because of being an awkward teenager, but he kept going back. He quickly adapted to his growing body and was noticed by the Croatian national team.

His second-division club team tried to sign him to the customary 10-year contract, binding him to them until he was 24.

Cuic declined and was suspended by the Croatian sports federation. He can never play for the national team again because of that decision.

Many of his friends went through the same situation, and just quit basketball. Cuic, however, wanted to keep playing so left home at age 15.

Being close to Italy he found a third-division team there, and was quickly picked up for the practice squad of a first-division team.

Cuic spent four years on the Italian amateur circuit, honing his game. All he did was play, practice, eat and sleep.

“It wasn’t smooth,” Cuic said. “There were many times I wondered what I was doing here. If this is what I wanted. I was alone a lot and didn’t make good friends. Many times I thought about quitting, but my parents supported me.”

Cuic moved to a league in Holland since he was getting only limited playing time. It was a step down a level, but it became the team’s star player.

The Beavers found him there when OSU alum Teo Alibegovic recommend him. It was going to be a big change going to the New World, but Cuic felt it couldn’t be any worse than what he had faced.

“I was young when I left home, so it was a big deal,” Cuic said. “It made me grow up faster and be mature over my age. It was a good thing, but maybe I should have waited another year before I left.”

Cuic looked at the Pac-10 as a challenge, and an opportunity. He figures playing at OSU helps him prepare to make the pro jump for the NBA or in Europe.

Developing an all-around game hasn’t been easy, but he has learned more about basketball here than anywhere else. A weight training program helped him be more forceful in the inside game.

“In the last half of last season he really began to settle in and gain confidence in himself,” John said. “And now he has the perspective he didn’t understand before. He has to score, but he can’t hang his hat on that. He has elevated his rebounding and defense. He improved getting open to get the ball. There’s better understanding in Sasa that we need full-time players. And he knows defenses will respond to him differently this season.”

Beyond the confidence Cuic has found on the court, he has gained a sense of peace in his life and surroundings.

A happier view of the world has led to a better basketball player and person.

“Oregon State is my first stop I’ve gotten to know people,” Cuic said. “From that standpoint it was great. If I could have chosen I would have preferred playing for the first division team and doing the regular (European) path. My path is different, but I enjoyed it. Whatever happens after I leave, I’ll always remember Oregon State and always be there as an alumni.”