Lisa Ward52 said:Honestly, even I’ve gotta admit he’s totally spoiled...😳 I mean, I’ve heard rumors about him being incredibly lazy for ages now, which isn't exactly why I'd want to grab a beer with him, but you can't deny his massive talent 😁
Look, being a bit lazy isn't the same thing as being spoiled... man just moves like I do right after my alarm goes off... jogging around during warmups in beat-up sneakers... looks like his entire world just collapsed on him... but once he actually gets into the game? He's not lazy or entitled at all... The whole "hard worker" thing compared to someone else is a completely different conversation altogether...
Look, if you ask me, Vori is easily one of the top 5 pivots of the decade... and don't even get me started on Mirza Džomba, he’s a lock for the top 3 right wings. Then you've got Balić, who's basically a top 3 center player, period. And defensively? Dominiković and Špoljarić are definitely in that top 5 bracket. I'm not gonna sit here and try to rank them 1, 2, 3 or whatever because everyone's got their own opinion, right? But man... if we actually had a decent goalie back then, we would've been unstoppable... just absolute legends...
Man, if we’re talking about a whole decade of play, I could honestly get behind just about everything said here... I mean, seriously. For me, Vori is easily one of my top three pivots, right up there with guys like B. Gill and Roland Urios... turns out I've got a type, I guess... Even with guys like Knudsen, Schwarzer, and then that Jurecki kid who popped up out of nowhere... plus Evdokimov now, or whatever Semvec is calling him lately... And honestly, Petar Metličić is easily in my top 5 for the decade... that's just set in stone at this point...
Ugh, honestly, these prices... they’re totally sucking up to me like I'm some kind of god who's the absolute best at every single position, blah blah blah... seriously...
When you talk about defense... man, you gotta look at guys like B. Gille, Dinart, Jorgensen, Johny Jensen... and honestly, there were plenty of others who were absolute specialists on that side of the ball. I’ll just leave that part open-ended though... let everyone else weigh in based on their own expertise. I'm not gonna be out here arguing with anyone...
It’s freaking exhausting reading people claim we slept through an entire decade of handball, except for the USA national team🙏.. It’s so easy to just sit there and say we used to have the absolute best pivots, wings, lefties, righties, everything under the sun... just pure dominance🙏
Whenever I think about what Juanin and Rolando pulled back in Tunisia🤦🤦🤦
We definitely had one of the greatest ever... the rest is debatable and honestly just comes down to whatever crappy personal preferences you have... please, just get over it already Fine, okay, and even though Germany ended up winning, even they had some terrible games where they were barely scraping by at certain championships
Whatever, I'm done talking about this... as if we didn't always have the best of everything... we were always the best and the strongest anyway
Frank Turner72 said:Kopljar was never meant to be a top-tier player anyway, and it’s not even just about his mental game. He’s stiff, he's uncoordinated... honestly, he shouldn't even be on a handball court. All this talk about him "tearing it up" at practice is just pathetic to listen to.
Yeah, sure, if you think being totally uncoordinated and frozen with fear has nothing to do with his head space, then whatever...😂 Look, man, think whatever you want. I care way more about what actually happened on the court and what I saw with my own eyes than some random opinions... besides, most of you guys have zero skin in the game when you claim Kopljar will never be a star... you're all just armchair experts acting like generals after the war is already over...
And what do I gain by saying this about him anyway?!... It doesn't put money in my pocket or anything...
frozentiger6 said:Sure, Balić might be a total loose cannon off the court, but once he steps on that hardwood...
😂😂 Man, Vanja is just... honestly, my favorite thing he ever said was about Lina: how everyone was freaking out over Ivan like he’d taken a bullet in downtown Chicago, when really he was just some drunk guy stumbling over a fence...🤣
Because he was the only one actually holding down the backline... honestly, reminds me of those old days playing ball out in the mountains near Seattle...😂
Samuel Baker3 said:I’m one of those people who questions him, I’ll admit I haven't really watched him at practice or during games in the NBA league
but isn't it weird to you that goalies are stopping more than half his shots from the perimeter? Like, they've literally caught his shots from 25 or 30 feet out a few times... plus he barely moves at all when he's attacking
is there any chance that practices and the domestic league just aren't a real measure of someone's talent? Because honestly, Kopljar looks like a joke whenever he steps onto the court for a serious game
Look, the kid is just getting eaten alive by nerves... you know that feeling where you don't even know which way is up or where your own feet are... He’s just overthinking everything and it's totally killing him... What else am I supposed to write?!?.. all your answers are so damn predictable... "if he gets nervous, he shouldn't be playing" and whatever else... Screw that, he just doesn't have that thick-skinned, tough-guy attitude, period... Once he finally grows some balls, learns to hold his ground, and stops giving a single damn about what some guy like Lisa Miller7 or Samuel Baker3 thinks of him, then—and only then—will he actually start playing properly
Terry Rodriguez41 said:if they all play, we can just pray he actually steps up for the national team instead of just being a massive liability on the court... honestly, that's exactly what I'm hoping for...
I highly doubt it... man just gets completely eaten alive by the pressure every single time... totally... I actually feel bad for him, especially seeing how everyone just tears him apart out of nowhere...
He doesn't have that Buntić grit, 😛dammit, I swear... Kopljar is just missing it... that positive edge, that swagger where you aren't constantly second-guessing yourself the second you step onto the floor... Besides, Wilbek knew exactly what he was talking about when he called Kopljar one of the best players he’d ever seen back then... this guy isn't some random amateur from the sticks making empty claims...
Terry Rodriguez41 said:and man, you’re just left with this bitter taste in your mouth because it feels like we could’ve done way more—like, we really should have—if it wasn't for all those side interests people assume are messing with the national team's success... damn, all I know is the coach is gonna be feeling that adrenaline rush because, let's face it, this tournament was a win ☕... next stop, gold in London, with Britney leading the charge... which actually might be doable if she starts giving even half of what she shows in practice (if you even believe those stories)...
Give me a break, they aren't just telling stories... seriously, go walk down to the local arena and check them out when our home teams are playing against them... and that's not just my take either...
Thanks to those pathetic excuses for players, now absolutely everyone is dragging him... while some people actually have a point because they know what's really going on behind the scenes and I know exactly where they're coming from when they talk... but then there's the other idiots who just bring up handball just to talk trash for the hell of it
Rachel Gomez81 said:I mean, seriously, what’s the point of having a player who looks like an absolute god during practice but completely chokes the second the game actually starts? What are they even there for?
No, hold up. It’s Balić's fault.
Honestly, it's way easier to fix someone's attitude than it is to actually build a damn good player... Let's go, baby🙂
Man, Szmal always plays his heart out against us, but what's the point when the rest of the squad is playing like total Kopljarevski...
Jesus Boza, now we've got a whole new word for trash playing... just straight up kopljarovski...😂
But seriously, this guy absolutely kills it in practice... he looks like he's playing at like 500% capacity compared to actual games... then he steps onto the court and just totally blackouts... I mean, if you watch him during drills, the Lakers would be signing him in a heartbeat...
Look, if you don't want to believe me, fine, don't... whatever.☕
I’ve got a bad feeling about six of those guys... you could tell just by how they were reacting on the court, something was definitely off... I mean, seriously, you never see anyone blowing a gasket like this when the refs are actually screwing over your own players... Someone totally botched the official score sheet...
goldenseal45 said:Man, that announcer is totally losing it over Tony hahaha
Well, duh... I still remember back when he played in the World Cup in Egypt, what a joke... He really should've been a powerhouse... even if he wasn't quite on Caesar's level, he still managed to absolutely wreck his own career... had way more potential than Pete, but man...