By Liam Twomey
After a world-beating year on the basketball court, Dejan Vasiljevic has added another trophy to his fast-growing collection.
Vasiljevic was named overall winner of the Don Deeble Rising Star award for 2014 at the competition’s grand final last week.
The 17-year-old basketball sensation impressed award organisers with his performances through the past 12 months, which included being named Australia’s most valuable player in an under-17 tour of China, being named in the all-star five of the
under-17 FIBA world championships, and scoring 29 points against the US in the competition’s final.
“Everything that has happened over the past 12 months has been amazing,” Vasiljevic said.
“I’ve had great support from my family and all the coaches back h
ome, and the hard work has really paid off.
“Having the opportunity to play against the best players from around the world has been amazing. This is a great community and I’m so glad to be part of it,” he said.
The western suburbs’ basketball fraternity aren’t the only ones singing the praises of Vasiljevic.
The Tarneit local, who now trains full-time at Canberra’s Australia Institute of Sport, has been the talk of the US college basketball world since his outstanding performance at the FIBA world championships.
Vasiljevic has received countless offers from colleges wanting to sign him to the 2016 rosters.
While he has plenty of time to make a decision on his post-school basketball life, Vasiljevic will get a first-hand look at what it takes to make it at the top level this month.
He has been invited to an exclusive training camp for some of the world’s best young players.
The week-long trip will take place in New York and coincide with the NBA All Star weekend.
“I’ll be involved in a three-day camp and then I’ll be watching Dante (Exum) in the rising stars challenge, and then helping out in the NBA All Star game.
“LeBron James and Kobe Bryant and all those types of players will be there, so it should be a great experience.
“I fly back to play national championships in Dandenong after that. I might be a bit jetlagged, but you have got to do that sort of thing if you want to be a professional.”
The Don Deeble Rising Star award is run by the Sunshine Western Region Sports Club in conjunction with
Star Weekly.
The award recognises young athletes in the western suburbs who have achieved exceptional results at state and national level. Each month, one nominee receives $1000 donated by the Yarraville Club Cricket Club .
Nominees also receive other prizes to assist in their future sporting goals.
Following the 10 monthly nominations, the grand final for the award is held in January.
All nominees from the past year are eligible to win the first prize of $5000, while two runners-up each get $2500. This year’s runners-up were netballer Libby Birch and cricketer James Muirhead.
Birch is a member of the Australian 17 and under national squad and captained Victoria to a gold medal at the national championships.
Muirhead made his international T20 debut for Australia last year and played domestic cricket for Victoria.
