Final Four fever has struck in the town of Bijelo Polje, Montenegro. Georgetown's Sead Dizdarevic, a reserve forward, from Montenegro found this out once he finished helping cut down the nets in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sunday.
Moments after the Hoyas beat North Carolina 96-84 in overtime in the East Regional final, the 6-9 Dizdarevic (pronounced DIZ-da-ray-vik) returned to the dressing room to find his cellphone jammed with 25 messages from the homeland.
"I couldn't believe it," Dizdarevic said. "This is huge for my town."
Dizdarevic is Georgetown's lone European roster player.
Dizdarevic has logged 21 minutes in 15 games this season. He played two minutes in the Hoyas' first-round win against Belmont and scored two points with one rebound.
Dizdarevic's parents won't attend this weekend's Final Four in Atlanta, but a large contingent of family and friends will gather to watch the game.
Dizdarevic, who attended high school near Sacramento living with a host family, is optimistic his parents, Besim and Lidija, will attend graduation ceremonies in May in Washington. Dizdarevic, who speaks three languages and six Serbian dialects, is majoring in political science and government. He hopes to pursue a pro career in Europe. "This has been amazing," he added. "People back home know about it (the Final Four), and I'll be representing them."
USA Today, MAR 28, 2007
Moments after the Hoyas beat North Carolina 96-84 in overtime in the East Regional final, the 6-9 Dizdarevic (pronounced DIZ-da-ray-vik) returned to the dressing room to find his cellphone jammed with 25 messages from the homeland.
"I couldn't believe it," Dizdarevic said. "This is huge for my town."
Dizdarevic is Georgetown's lone European roster player.
Dizdarevic has logged 21 minutes in 15 games this season. He played two minutes in the Hoyas' first-round win against Belmont and scored two points with one rebound.
Dizdarevic's parents won't attend this weekend's Final Four in Atlanta, but a large contingent of family and friends will gather to watch the game.
Dizdarevic, who attended high school near Sacramento living with a host family, is optimistic his parents, Besim and Lidija, will attend graduation ceremonies in May in Washington. Dizdarevic, who speaks three languages and six Serbian dialects, is majoring in political science and government. He hopes to pursue a pro career in Europe. "This has been amazing," he added. "People back home know about it (the Final Four), and I'll be representing them."
USA Today, MAR 28, 2007
