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Hezonja Excited for Opportunity with Magic, Expects to Play in Summer League

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John DentonJuly 2, 2015

ORLANDO – Still wide-eyed and very much in awe of being in the United States – a place he referred to on Thursday as ``heaven’’ – Mario Hezonja could be forgiven for being a bit overwhelmed.

But there is no shaking of an infectious confidence that lives deep inside of the 20-year-old Hezonja that he is in Orlando now and a member of the Magic to be a difference-maker on the basketball court. Though he knows there are hurdles ahead while making the transition to living in a new country and adjusting to the speed and physicality of the NBA, Hezonja possesses a deep-seeded belief that he will ultimately thrive for the Magic on basketball’s biggest stage.

``I know there is crazy stuff going on around me with all of the exposure and stuff, but I am keeping myself settled down, calm and ready to do this,’’ Hezonja said on Thursday after his introductory news conference ended. ``When I was in Europe I played against the best competition there and I worked every day to compete against them and beat them. It’s the same thing now in the NBA, but with a lot more work to come and bigger dimensions. But I am confident I can do this.’’

Hezonja, the fifth pick in last Thursday’s NBA Draft, spoke on Thursday of all the things that he hopes to bring to the Magic in the years ahead. Since he started playing professionally in his native Croatia at the unthinkable age of 11, Hezonja has dreamed of doing big things in basketball – first in Europe and now in the NBA. He has a confidence level that is as much a part of his game as his dead-eye 3-point stroke, and it is one of the things that convinced the Magic that he was the right fit for them in last week’s draft.

``As we studied and watched Mario from afar, we really grew to be intrigued with a lot of the qualities that he brings to the basketball floor,’’ said Magic GM Rob Hennigan, who has scouted Hezonja extensively for three years. ``He is incredibly passionate, incredibly intense and he brings a competitiveness and spirit to the floor – separate from his skill – that really, really attracted us. We gravitated to that intensity, energy and confidence that he seems to play and we feel like his skill set – whether it’s his ability to make shots, score and athletic ability – it fits in quite well with our roster.’’

Hezonja’s debut in a Magic uniform – he decided to wear No. 23 after some well-thought-out internet research – could come as soon as Saturday’s opening of the Southwest Airlines Orlando Pro Summer League. Hezonja’s start was delayed a bit because of a minor clearance issue with FIBA, but it was resolved on Thursday afternoon and Hezonja – who negotiated his buyout with his Spanish League team earlier in the week – practiced for the first time with his new Magic teammates. Because he’s already played 53 Spanish League and EuroLeague games this season, Hezonja’s playing time in Summer League is expected to be limited.

One player who has already caught the eye of the Magic during summer league drills, lefty combo guard Tyler Harvey, should get plenty of looks over the coming days. Harvey, a second-round pick by the Magic last week, led the nation in scoring (23.1 ppg.) and 3-pointers per game (4.0) while playing at tiny Eastern Washington. Harvey, a California native, didn’t have a scholarship offer coming out of high school, but worked his way into a position that he now has a legitimate shot at making a NBA roster because of his shooting stroke.

``Everything has been happening so fast these last few days, but to see the NBA logo on your chest, it’s just a dream come true and a blessing,’’ Harvey said. ``Now I have to make the most of this opportunity.’’

The Magic are eager for the 6-foot-8, 218-pound Hezonja to get his opportunity to show off his wide-array of skills. He projects as a high-level shooter in the NBA – something that should have a trickle-down effect on dive-and-kick guards Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton and post-up center Nikola Vucevic. Hezonja also has plus athleticism – something that he used in Europe to dunk on several players through the years.

He played at the club level and professionally in Croatia from age 11 to 17, and was the MVP of the Under-16 EuroLeague Championships in 2011. At 17 years old, he made the bold leap to the Spanish League – widely considered the second-best league in the world only to the NBA – playing with powerhouse FC Barcelona, where he won a title in 2014. Despite seeing limited playing time as he apprenticed behind more experienced players, Hezonja’s talent shined through and he had tremendous flashes of brilliance. Those moments only strengthen a confidence that he was still on the path to basketball greatness.

``When I was finished (playing) in Croatia, I was thinking about the NBA, but my father was explaining me, `You need to be the boss in your bed, then your room, your house and your garden and then go up,’’ Hezonja said with a laugh. ``I didn’t want to miss the steps to playing the highest stages in Europe. So the three years in Barcelona helped me a lot to be here today with this wonderful organization.’’

Hezonja’s confidence has sometimes been describes as cockiness and it has occasionally led to tiffs with opponents and even teammates. He defended his belief in himself on Thursday, saying he has always been taught to be a confident person. That belief has always been something that has helped him thrive while playing against older, more experienced players. That confidence will be put to the test again now in the U.S. and the NBA, he said.

``Some of (the confidence) is from my parents. My father was a professional water polo player so he was teaching me a lot in general about sports,’’ Hezonja said. ``The other part (of the confidence) is just me. I think that you can’t be a professional athlete if you don’t have confidence in your teammates and yourself. That confidence is pushing me and my brothers to work hard every day and get ready for every opportunity.’’

Added Hennigan: ``Mario’s confidence is a real strength of his and I think it really speaks to how much he believes in himself and how badly he wants this. He has a passion and ambition to be great fits in line with the makeup of a lot of our guys already on the team.’’

Hezonja’s transition to the NBA might be eased by the fact that Vucevic – a fixture on the team the past three seasons – hails from Montenegro and also speaks Serbian. Magic guard Evan Fournier, a native of France, was similarly a child prodigy as a basketball player and successfully made the transition to living in the U.S. New Magic coach Scott Skiles, who began his coaching career in Europe some 15 years ago, feels that Hezonja has the necessary tools and maturity to make the transition to a new country and a new league.

``When we get to the fall we’ll just have to see where Mario is at in relation to the other guys,’’ said Skiles, referring to the fact that Hezonja has already been a professional player for years. ``He has a couple of outstanding, high-level NBA skills already in his pocket. He can really shoot it and he’s athletic and those are things that we need.

``It wouldn’t surprise me if he came out of the gate right away looking like a pro player,’’ Skiles added. ``And it wouldn’t surprise me if it took him a little time to get acclimated. We’re certainly going to be sensitive to that.’’

Hezonja admitted that there will be a transition to make to living in America and making it in the NBA. But one revelation from Thursday from Hezonja could tell a lot about his dedication to basketball and his laser-like focus. Asked to reveal one thing that no one knows about him, Hezonja said that he’s never been to a night club or a bar and that his focus is usually always on basketball.

Thursday’s introductory news conference was a first step into a new world. But it’s a step that Hezonja knows he is ready for and his confidence will not be shaken.

``I think it’s a completely other world here – everything positive,’’ Hezonja said of life in the United States. ``It’s just different. You know how (Americans) here approach all of the details in their lives? It’s just really, really different, but I think I will get used to it quickly.’’

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