Croatia
Gordan Giricek | Toni Kukoc | Zoran Planinic | Bruno Sundov | Mario Kasun

Gordan Giricek
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Height: 6-5 | Weight: 210 lbs. | Born: June 20, 1977 | Position: Guard Team: Utah Jazz A gifted third-year shooter, Gordan Giricek has been a solid contributor for Memphis, Orlando and now the Jazz. Over his career, the two-guard has averaged 12.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, while connecting on 34.1 percent of his three-pointers. Giricek was brought to the Jazz in exchange for DeShawn Stevenson. The 6-5 guard out of Croatia was originally a second-round draft pick in the '99 Draft. Giricek’s rights were traded from Dallas to San Antonio and from San Antonio to Memphis before he saw action in an NBA game. He joined the Grizzlies for the '02-03 season, where he averaged 11.2 points in 24.2 minutes prior to being traded to Orlando. Before landing in the NBA, Giricek played for Croatia in the European Championships and in the Croatian League All-Star Game. In 2000-01 he played for Cibona Zagreb of CRO-BA (Croatian Basketball League). He helped lead Cibona to the Croatian National Cup and the Croatian national Championship. He also appeared in 12 Euroleague games.

Toni Kukoc
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Height: 6-11 | Weight: 235 lbs. | Born: Sept. 18, 1968 | Position: Forward Team: Milwaukee Bucks One of the best-known European imports, Kukoc has made a name for himself as an excellent all-around offensive talent who helped lead the Bulls to three titles ('95-98). Entering his 12th NBA season, Kukoc has a long history of stateside success. He won the Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1996, a season that saw him average 13.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists. For his career, Kukoc is averaging 12.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Kukoc also saw great success as a professional player in Europe. He won three European championship titles and was named the European Player of the Year three times. In 1988, he was a member of the silver-medal Yugoslavian Olympic Team. Four years later he earned his second silver as a member of the Croatian Olympic Team. Kukoc had many nicknames in Europe, including “Pink Panther", “The Spider of Split”, “The Waiter” and “Kuki”. At the age of 14, he was an age-group Croatian table tennis champion. Kukoc is the father of two.

Zoran Planinic
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Height: 6-7 | Weight: 200 lbs. | Born: Sept. 12, 1982 | Position: Guard Team: New Jersey Nets A first-round pick in the 2003 Draft, Zoran Planinic is making a name for himself as a solid backup point guard who has the potential to see his role grow as he gains more NBA experience. Planinic played perhaps his best basketball with the Nets earlier this season when Jason Kidd was out due to injury. He had a career game against Dallas on Nov. 13, 2004, when he totaled 16 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals, all career-highs. Before he came to the NBA, Planinic helped Cibona win the Croatian National Championship in 2001 and 2002. He was named the league MVP in 2001. At the Euroleague Opening Tournament, he was named the 2001-02 Best Croatian Young Player. He was also a member of the Croatian Under-22 National Team, and helped lead the team to the silver medal at the 2001 World Under-22 Championships. In 2002-03, Planinic played roughly 22 minutes per game in 18 Euroleague games, averaging 7.8 points and 2.8 assists. Born in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Planinic started playing basketball when he was 12 years old. He played basketball professionally at the age of 14 but did not see significant playing time until he was 16. In his leisure time, he likes to play video games, watch TV and movies, and hang out with his friends.

Bruno Sundov
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Height: 7-2 | Weight: 260 lbs. | Born: Feb. 10, 1980 | Position: Center Team: New York Knicks New York center Bruno Sundov is currently in his seventh NBA season, averaging 1.8 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. This stint with the Knicks marks the second time in his 97-game career he has been on the New York roster; Sundov signed a 10-day contract with the club in January 2004. The 35 th overall selection in the 1998 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks, Sundov became the youngest player ever to wear a Mavericks jersey at 19 years, 2 months and 11 days when he made his debut against the Houston Rockets on Apr. 21, 1999. Sundov was traded to Utah as part of a four-team deal including Boston and Golden State before spending time plying his trade in Indiana, Boston, Cleveland and New York. On the international stage, Sundov has led the Croatian team to a first-place finish in the 1998 International Junior Tournament. In Croatia, he was coached by Niksa Bavcevic, who has worked with other NBA players Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja and Zan Tabak.

Mario Kasun
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Height: 7-0 | Weight: 260 lbs. | Born: Apr. 5, 1980 | Position: Center Team: Orlando Magic Mario Kasun is back on Orlando’s active roster, filling the vacancy left by the injured Doug Christie. The first-year player has appeared in 28 games this season, averaging 2.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists. After being selected by the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round (No. 42 overall pick) in the 2002 NBA Draft, Kasun was traded to Orlando for future considerations. Unable to make an NBA roster, Kasun spent two seasons with the Opel Skyliners of Frankfurt, Germany, where he averaged 9.3 points and 7.1 rebounds in 27 games during his final season. Prior to being drafted by the Clippers, Kasun spent two seasons with KK Zagreb in Croatia, averaging 5.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. He played on the 1998-99 Croatian Junior National Team and was a member of the Croatian Under-21 National Team in 2000. Kasun had hopes of playing collegiate ball at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. for the 2000-01 season, however he was ruled ineligible by the NCAA. Last summer, Kasun was included on Orlando’s summer league roster and played in five outings during the 2004 Pepsi Orlando Pro Summer League where he averaged 8.8 points, 5.4 boards and 1.0 assists. He also played in five contests during the Reebok Vegas Summer League, averaging 10.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists.

Czech Republic
Jiri Welsch
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Height: 6-7 | Weight: 208 lbs. | Born: Jan. 27, 1980 | Position: Forward Team: Cleveland Cavaliers Recently traded from Boston to Cleveland at the NBA trading deadline, Jiri Welsch has appeared in five games for the Cavaliers, averaging 3.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists. These numbers are down from the first 55 games of the season when he averaged 7.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists for the Celtics. Welsch has posted career-best numbers in every major statistical category this season, including a 24-point performance at Golden State on Dec. 6, 2004 and an eight-rebound outing against Seattle on Nov. 21, 2004. He has scored 20-or-more points on five occasions. Philadelphia made Welsch the 16 th overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft, but traded his draft rights to Golden State. A year later the Warriors shipped Welsch to Dallas where he was involved in a swap with Boston that sent Antoine Walker to the Mavericks. A former member of the Czech National Team, the Czech Junior National Team and the Czech Under-22 National Team, Welsch spent three seasons playing professionally in the Czech Republic before signing to play for Olimpija Ljubljana for the 2000-01 season. In his first season with Olimpija Ljubljana, he averaged 10.6 points and shot 41.3 percent from three-point range while coming off the bench for much of the season. The second Czech-born player to reach the NBA, after George Zidek, Welsch was one of Europe’s top players during his final year with Sparta Praha in the Czech Republic during the 1999-2000 season, averaging 19.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists.

England
Ndudi Ebi
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Height: 6-9 | Weight: 200 lbs. | Born: June 18, 1984 | Position: Forward Team: Minnesota Timberwolves Ebi has spent the entire 2004-05 campaign and the final 29 games of 2003-04 on the injured list due to patellar tendonitis in his right knee. In 17 appearances with the Timberwolves last season, the 26 th overall pick of the 2003 NBA Draft saw only 1.9 minutes of playing time per game, averaging 0.80 points, 0.20 assists and 0.20 rebounds. At the 2003 Pepsi Pro Summer League, Ebi tallied 8.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 27.0 minutes per game in five appearances. He ranked second in blocks and eight in steals among the summer league participants. Ebi was the second-ever high school player selected by the Timberwolves after he was named to the USA Today All-USA First Team and PARADE All-America High School Boys Basketball First Team. He led his Westbury Christian team to Texas state titles as a freshman, sophomore and senior. He also wasa named First Team All-State each of his final three seasons of high school. Competing in the USA Olympic Festival in 2001, Ebi set festival records for points (139), field goals made (56), and field goals attempted (108) on his way to being named Most Valuable Player. Born in England and raised in the small city of Enugu in Nigeria, Ebi’s family moved to Houston because of the political climate and to offer the family’s three children a better education.