Pesic explains why Jokic and Micic will miss World Cup, reveals more injury concerns / News - Basketnews.com

Coach Svetislav Pesic says Nikola Jokic feels unready to take responsibility at the moment due to his physical and mental exhaustion, therefore he will miss FIBA World Cup 2023. Vasilije Micic is dealing with a shoulder injury.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

On Monday, coach Svetislav Pesic announced the much-awaited list of players for the Serbian national team's FIBA World Cup 2023 preparations in Asia.

Ognjen Jaramaz

Position:SGAge:27Height:193 cmWeight:88 kgBirth place:Kruševac, SerbiaProfileNewsStatistics

Alongside the 20 names revealed by the experienced specialist for the initial stage of preparations, he also took the time to address the notable absentees from Serbia's roster.

"We knew back in June that we couldn't count on [Vladimir] Lucic and [Nikola] Kalinic, as both players informed us about their unavailability due to various physical and mental fatigue issues," Pesic explained, via Mozzart Sport.

"[Luka] Mitrovic was also someone we wanted, but he requested a break this summer to recover from his injuries. He assured us that he'd make himself available if needed for qualifying games," the coach continued.

"As for [Vasilije] Micic, we had lengthy discussions, and he requested to skip this year. After a long season, dealing with injuries and signing with Oklahoma, he was unfortunate to sustain a shoulder injury during his stay there, and now he's in the process of recovery," Pesic added.

However, the absence of NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic undoubtedly captured the most attention.

"With [Nikola] Jokic, we had several conversations, and I must say they were some of the best conversations I've had with players who couldn't make it to the roster," Pesic said. "He's physically and mentally exhausted, not feeling ready to take responsibility at the moment."

Pesic also revealed that the participation of three other players on the list remains uncertain.

"[Aleksej] Pokusevski's participation is pending permission due to his shoulder injury. He's been receiving treatment from a specialist in Athens for the past month, and we hope to get the green light for his inclusion," the 73-year-old underlined.

"As for Stefan Jovic, he wants to play, but there's a health issue within his family that needs to be resolved first. We hope everything works out for him to join the team.

"[Filip] Petrusev is running late, while [Ognjen] Jaramaz is recovering from an injury and undergoing therapy," Pesic concluded.

Full Serbia's roster:

Aleksa Avramovic (Partizan) Dusan Beslac (Vojvodina) Bogdan Bogdanovic (Hawks) Ognjen Dobric (Virtus) Dejan Davidovac (Crvena Zvezda) Ognjen Jaramaz (Partizan) Nikola Jovic (Heat) Stefan Jovic (Zaragoza) Vanja Marinkovic (Baskonia) Nikola Milutinov (Olimpiacos) Nemanja Nedovic (Crvena Zvezda) Filip Petrusev (76ers) Aleksej Pokusevski (Thunder) Aleksa Radanov (Peristeri) Dusan Ristic (Tenerife) Alen Smailagic (Partizan) Borisa Simanic (Zaragoza) Nikola Topic (Crvena Zvezda) Uros Trifunovic (Partizan) Marko Guduric (Fenerbahce) Thank you for reading us! We have even more content for you.