Former France star and Wizards assistant AlexisAjinca traveled to Cyprus to scout TristanVukcevic, praising his impact for Serbia and hoping he makes the EuroBasket roster.Ajinca also lauded NikolaJokic as the world’s best player and a dominant force.
AlexisAjinca was once a towering force for the French national team, winning EuroBasket gold in 2013.
Tristan Vukcevic
Tristan Vukcevic
Position: C
Age: 22
Height: 209 cm
Weight: 99 kg
Birth place: Siena, Italy
Now, 12 years later, the former Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, and Toronto Raptors center is an assistant coach with the Washington Wizards— and he’s in Limassol, Cyprus, following Serbia’s national team preparations.
Ajinça’s trip has a clear purpose: to watch Tristan Vukcevic.
“I’m here to watch him,” Ajinca told Mozzart Sport. “We talked, I advised him to enjoy it. Playing for the national team is always special. I’ve always loved playing for France, so he has to enjoy himself, enjoy the game, and do everything in his power to be successful.
Sometimes he won’t score points, but he’ll affect the game with rebounds, blocks, defensively… he has to impact the game in various ways.”
So far, Ajinça has liked what he’s seen from Vukcevic.
“Great— offensively and defensively. It’s good to see him enjoying playing for Serbia. I watched him last game, he played six minutes. I hoped he would play more, but that’s the coach’s decision. While he played, he played well.”
Ajinca also praised Serbia’s wider roster— and especially its superstar.
“It will be difficult to beat them. You have France, Germany — which is a good team — this European Championship will be very good. France has no main players due to injuries, but I think it can fight with Serbia.
Nikola Jokic is currently the best player in the world. He’s dominating the NBA, dominating the national team with a triple-double. He is a player who is difficult to beat.”
As forVukcevic’s career development,Ajinça remains optimistic.
“I am very satisfied. It is still early, but we hope to see even more next year. So far he has been very good for us, he is very intelligent… It is always nice to see young players who play hard and work hard. His potential is up to the ceiling, he just needs to develop.”
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