Tyson Demos, left, and Mirko Djeric at training on Wednesday. Picture: KIRK GILMOUR
BASKETBALL
He's the Sydney boy who always booed the Kings.
Wollongong Hawks guard Mirko Djeric was a Bankstown junior star whose allegiances lay with the West Sydney Razorbacks.
Turning 18 next month, Wollongong's late-season signing is relishing his first chance to line up against the Kings tomorrow night at WIN Entertainment Centre.
"There's definitely no love for Sydney. I'm playing for Wollongong so it's a hate situation now," Djeric said.
"I supported the Razorbacks before they folded. The Kings never really caught my eye.
"I always thought about living in Wollongong and playing for them when I was a kid. I mean, who wouldn't want to live near the beach and play basketball?"
Djeric only signed with the Hawks on February 8 after the club lost starting guards Lance Hurdle and Rhys Martin to season-ending knee injuries.
He has been on a scholarship at the AIS for the past three years and is one of the nation's brightest young prospects.
Last week he scored his first NBL points, hitting 2/4 threes in Wollongong's 69-64 road loss to Townsville. "My confidence is up after my first shot went in. That was a relief," he said.
"We've got a big game on Friday and I'll try to contribute in any way I can from the bench or on the court."
Standing 191 centimetres and boasting a physique that belies his age, Djeric doesn't take a backward step to his more experienced rivals.
"I'm definitely not afraid out there," he said. "I don't want to try to do anything out of the ordinary. I just try to play to my strengths and stick to [coach] Gordie's [McLeod] game plan."
Djeric has a Serbian background and is almost certain to play with a Serbian club in the 2013 European season. If things don't pan out overseas, a return to the Hawks is certainly on the cards.
"It's definitely an option," he said. "It's too hard to say now, but I've fallen in love with the place already. The community is very welcoming and it's nice and relaxed. It feels like home."