UW's Dzepina Continues High-Level Play at Eurobasket

The sophomore forward has turned in three solid outings in the FIBA tournament in Slovenia.

Nikola Dzepina tries to get in the way of a Latvian opponent. | FIBA

The gym is basically empty and the atmosphere on low energy for the games of FIBA U19 Eurobasket, but that hasn't stopped Nikola Dzepina from playing inspired basketball and filling up the hoop in Slovenia.

A University of Washington sophomore power forward back in his native Central Europe, the 6-foot-10, 240-pound Dzepina turned in his third consecutive solid performance for unbeaten Serbia by supplying a team-best 20 points and 8 rebounds in an 89-66 victory over Latvia on Monday.

Previously at the 16-team event at Areana Stozice in Ljubljana, he finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds against Poland and 12 points and 5 rebounds against Lithuania.

With a 17.7-point scoring average, Dzepina currently ranks second among all tournament scorers so far, trailing only Lithuania's 6-foot-7, 200-pound power forward Mantas Juzenas, who produces at a 22.7 clip.

Juzenas, 19, will join the American college basketball scene this coming season and play for the St. Mary's Gaels of the West Coast Conference.

Dzepina, after a lone season in Montlake, will turn 20 on July 31 and no longer be a teenager as he to earn a starting job with the UW after playing in 14 games as a freshman reserve.

Niko Dzepina mixes it up with a pair of USC players. | Dave Sizer photo

After concentrating on his inside game for Serbia in the first two tourney outings, Dzepina opened up his game some by connecting on 2 of 3 shots from behind the 3-point line against Latvia, and he hit 6 of 8 field-goal attempts overall.

In 19 minutes of game action, he also had 3 assists and 2 steals.

Dzepina came to the UW this past winter primarily known as a 3-point shooter, but it appears he's now trying to make all facets of his offensive game work at a more productive level.

"He's got a chance to be a really, really good player," UW coach Danny Sprinkle said this winter. "Offensively, he's really talented."

Meantime, Serbia is off to an impressive Eurobasket start by winning its games by 17, 22 and 23 points.

Dzepina's team joins France, Slovenia and Spain as the remaining unbeatens, each 3-0 in competition broken down into four groups that runs through Sunday.

Serbia now moves into a quarterfinals game against Italy (1-2) on Wednesday in Ljubljana, which is a capital city of 300,000 and the largest metro area in the country.