EVANSVILLE, Ind. – All student-athletes have their summer routines.  Many enjoy taking time to be with family, others take classes and some take on a part time job.  One thing they all have in common is their offseason work for their particular sports.
 
That is definitely the case for Purple Aces redshirt sophomore Mislav Brzoja, who is coming off of a summer where he played for his native Croatia in the FIBA U20 European Championship. 
 
His efforts helped Croatia take fourth place in a tournament that features several great professional players as well as European natives who will spend their collegiate careers in the United States.  Brzoja enjoyed the experience as it gave him true in-game work in order to prepare him for the upcoming season.
 
"I think this experience can help me a lot by getting a feeling for the game and see how to react in some game decisions," he said.  "I am still looking for my offensive game because I did not play for two years, but I know it is going to come sooner or later."
 
The tournament was played in Crete, Greece and saw Turkey take the championship with a 65-57 win over Spain.  In the bronze medal game, Brzoja's Croatian squad fell to Serbia and earned fourth place in the event.
 
In the opening game of the tournament, Croatia faced the eventual champions, Turkey, and gave them all they could handle.  An overtime battle eventually saw Turkey finish off with a 70-66 win.  It marked the beginning of a 9-1 trek for the squad, eventually leading to the championship.
 
For Croatia, they quickly rebounded from the early setback.  Behind a tournament-high 13 rebounds by Brzoja, the team took an 80-67 win over Italy.  From there, they would win seven games in a row.  On the offensive end, Brzoja scored 13 points on two occasions – wins over Montenegro and Israel.
 
Brzoja was a beast on the glass, leading his team with 7.6 rebounds per game.  He posted at least five caroms in nine out of ten games.
 
One of the most important aspects of the tournament for Brzoja was the chance to get back on the court and play some real game action.  Due to NCAA transfer rules, Brzoja has not played in an actual game since his time with Villanova in early 2013.
 
Teamwork is the most important thing in playing basketball and Brzoja explained the relationship his teammates and coaches had throughout their experience.
 
"It was great here in Greece, the team looked great and we were playing for each other and coaches," Brzoja explained.  "That is the only way of winning a game."