Vedran Vukusic’s NBA dream began on the courts of Split, Croatia, nearly 4,500 miles from the United States.

When the Northwestern senior forward picked up a basketball for the first time at the age of nine, fellow countryman Drazen Petrovic was among the NBA elite. Petrovic became one of Croatia’s most popular athletes, as the Hall of Famer, who died tragically in a car accident in 1993, averaged more than 20 points per game in his final two seasons with the New Jersey Nets.

Then in 1994, Toni Kukoc and Dino Radja, both natives of Split, entered the NBA, giving Vukusic hometown heroes and hope that from a city of about 250,000 on the Adriatic Sea, he could one day move on to play professional basketball in the U.S.

“I looked up to those Croatian guys, especially since they were the first to play in the NBA and were from Split,” Vukusic said. “It is always good to have a role model, and they were for me.”

Twelve years after Kukoc and Radja crossed the Atlantic Ocean and began careers in the NBA, Vukusic hopes his dreams and aspirations become reality in this year’s NBA Draft in June.

Vukusic, who leads the Big Ten in scoring with 19.3 points per game, is the Wildcats’ best professional prospect since former center Evan Eschmeyer, who was drafted in the second round of the 1999 NBA Draft by the Nets.

“He’s on the radar screen and is of interest to many teams,” said Chris Ekstrand, a consultant to the NBA. “He obviously can score, and there is always a place in the NBA for people who can score.”

Ekstrand said he does not project Vukusic to be a first-round pick, but he believes Vukusic could be taken in the second round. Even if chosen in the second round, Ekstrand said Vukusic will have to earn a spot on the roster in training camp.

Vukusic said his first choice is to play in the NBA, but if that does not work out, he has no problems playing professionally in Europe.

“With a player like Vukusic, the question is whether the NBA opportunity will be lucrative enough to take him away from playing in Europe where he will have a guaranteed six-figure contract,” Ekstrand said. “The prevailing opinion is that all the best basketball players were in the NBA. But the more you learn about Europe, you learn that’s not true anymore.

“There are plenty of players in Europe who could be productive players in the NBA. The opportunity to play in Europe will definitely be there for Vedran.”

In April, Vukusic will participate in the Portsmouth Invitational, a pre-draft tournament where NBA scouts get a chance to evaluate college seniors. Vukusic will learn after the season if he will get a spot in the prestigious NBA Pre-Draft Camp in June at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

NU coach Bill Carmody said he believes Vukusic will impress many scouts in these workouts and has a game that fits the NBA style. According to Carmody, all 30 NBA teams have seen Vukusic play this season.

“There’s nothing he can’t do on the court,” Carmody said. “He can dribble, he can pass and he can shoot. And he’s 6-8.”

Ekstrand said he is impressed with Vukusic’s ability to score in a variety of ways, especially as opposing teams have focused on him more this season.

“A guy like Vukusic will succeed playing off the great players, guys like Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady,” said Ekstrand, who compared Vukusic’s game to current NBA players Pat Garrity and Kyle Korver. “When defenses are sagging to help on one of those guys, a scorer like Vukusic can make teams pay.”

Vukusic said he wants to improve his mid-range game before the pre-draft workouts and try to be more assertive on the offensive end.

According to Ekstrand, scouts would like to see more rebounding from the 6-foot-8 forward. This season, Vukusic is averaging just 3.8 rebounds per game.

What may be one of Vukusic’s biggest assets – shooting – happened to be his major fault before coming to Evanston. Carmody said when he recruited Vukusic he was worried about what he described as possibly the worst rotation on a shot that he had ever seen.

But five years later, Vukusic has made 50 percent of his shots this season, including 36 percent from 3-point range.

“I’ve made amazing progress,” Vukusic said. “I couldn’t really shoot. I’m thankful for the coaches for the rest of my life. They worked with me so hard that I had no choice but to improve. If I had a chance to do it all over again, I would come here, knowing all that has happened.”

So when Vukusic completes his career with the Cats, he will finish with a degree from NU, an improved jump shot and perhaps a fulfillment of a dream – a chance to play in the NBA.

Reach Scott Duncan at [email protected].