Cvetinovic a superb Serb for Virginia Episcopal School

By Chris Humphreys
Lynchburg News & Advance
Published: February 19, 2008

Virginia Episcopal School’s Nikola Cvetinovic may have signed a letter of intent to play basketball for the University of Akron on Nov. 14, but no one should doubt the 6-foot-7 senior forward’s love for life or basketball as the Virginia Independent Conference and Virginia Independent School state tournaments approach.
“Nik has a passion for life,“ Bishops coach John Windham said. “Being from Serbia and the war-torn time they had in the 1990s, he has had some interesting life experiences. He has experienced that life is short and you need to live each day to its fullest and that’s the way he approaches his academics, his basketball and his relationships from a social standpoint.“

Sixth-seeded VES hosts Hargrave at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the Virginia Independent Conference tournament today. And if the Bishops knock off Hargrave they would hit the road to square off with the tournament’s top seed, Carlisle, on Thursday. The VIC championship game is Saturday at Liberty University.

“The VIC is probably the toughest private school league other than the D.C. Catholic League,“ Windham said. “He have seven teams and six of the teams are all ranked in the VIS polls. The VIC tournament is really a prelude to the whatever division state tournaments these teams are playing in.“

After the VIC tournament, the Bishops will have to wait for the Virginia Independent School polls to be released before knowing if they will participate.

If the Bishops make a run in either or both of the VIC or the VIS tournaments, Cvetinovic will have certainly played a big role in VES’ success. He is averaging 19.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game this season.

“It would mean a lot (to play well in the tournaments),“ Cvetinovic said. “I know and truly believe in every guy on this team. I love them to the end and I know we are going to pull it off. It would be a dream come true to make a deep run into the (state tournament).“

As sold as Cvetinovic is on his teammates, he was equally sold on Akron after a visit to the university. He plans to study a combination of international business and international law.

“The facilities and coaches were so nice,“ he said. “It was just a great feeling up there. I felt very accepted.“

Akron’s coach Keith Dambrot, who coached NBA star LeBron James in high school, was sold on Cvetinovic after watching him play in an AAU tournament this past summer.

“They are really looking forward to having Nik,“ Windham said. “(Dambrot) fell in love with Nik because he plays the game with such passion. He loves that Nik plays hard, plays with passion and loves playing defense.“

Cvetinovic has had an impact beyond the basketball court in his two years at VES. He admits that it hasn’t always been easy to adapt to a new culture, but he has clearly accepted that challenge with the same passion he takes to the basketball court by becoming a counselor for one of the dorms.

“(VES) was a good academic and good sporting opportunity,“ Cvetinovic said. “It was a good place to challenge myself. Normally, it was lot of fun for me. All the people here helped me a lot. Especially, coach Windham and his wife.“