Nik Stauskas on Dusko Ivanovic: 'He's the reason I won't play in Europe again' / News - Basketnews.com

Nik Stauskas didn't mince words referring to his Baskonia stint under coach Dusko Ivanovic, arguing that working with the Montenegrin tactician was anything but fun.

Credit: ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix Credit ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix

When news came out about Dusko Ivanovic holding a 5-hour practice session upon arriving at Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade, players around the world started telling stories of how they dealt with the methods of the Montenegrin specialist.

Nik Stauskas

Position:SGAge:29Height:198 cmWeight:93 kgBirth place:CanadaProfileNewsStatistics

Nik Stauskas spent the first five years of his career wondering in the NBA. In 2019, he signed with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, which was coached by Ivanovic at the time. Now, he bashed his former coach, claiming he was a huge part of how he lost the love of the game.

"Played for him at Baskonia and legit felt like I was in a military camp every day. Took all the fun out of basketball for me," the player wrote on Instagram.

"His ideology is backwards in the way that if you lose, he sees it being because you didn’t work hard enough and therefore you get punished by running the next day. He's the sole reason that I refuse to ever play in Europe again," Stauskas claimed.

"My year at Baskonia was a disaster, to say the least!" he admitted.

"I came in with a nagging knee injury and was never able to get healthy that season. Ultimately, the two practices per day and running sessions under Dusko made things worse, and I was forced to end my season early and get surgery," Stauskas recalled.

"That’s partly why I feel so strongly about my experience playing for him. But I didn’t play up to my full potential while at Baskonia.

Our coach got fired and was replaced by Dusko mid-season. I had no choice but to play for him. He knows his Xs and Os, don’t get me wrong. Just not enjoyable to play for," Stauskas concluded.

The Canadian guard averaged 9 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game for 6.8 PIR. In February of 2020, both the club and the player decided to terminate the contract.

After a stint in Europe, Stauskas came to the US and has been wondering between the NBA and the G-League since.

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