Sam Forencich/NBAE/Getty ImagesDario Saric posted 13 points and 14 rebounds in Team World's victory over Team USA in 2012.

While Croatian forward Dario Saric doesn't have the hype of most elite domestic players, a number of NBA folk, both domestic and internationally, believe Saric is one of the top talents in this year's draft. He's the No. 1-ranked international player on our Big Board, and many believe he has the highest basketball IQ of anyone in the draft.

"He sleeps with the ball," said an international scout.

His passing ability, ballhandling and poise are unique for a player his size (6-foot-10, 223 pounds) and age (19).

Saric had his coming-out party at last year's Nike Hoop Summit, scoring 13 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and handing out five assists in 25 minutes for the World Team in a rare victory over Team USA. Saric wowed again at FIBA's U-18 European Championship in Lithuania in August, scoring 39 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for Croatia in the gold-medal game. For the tournament, he averaged 25.6 points and 10.1 rebounds.

But after such a promising spring and summer, things got a little rocky. Saric's club team, Zagreb, lost its place in the Adriatic League, and Saric ended up switching teams to Cibona. There were buyout issues, a public row between Saric and his father, and a DUI charge.

After the smoke cleared, Saric, who was just 18 at the time, struggled to find his stride with Cibona. While he started, he didn't see a lot of touches, nor was he allowed to do what he does so well -- handle the ball. His numbers for the season (7.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.1 APG) no longer screamed "lottery pick." And his lack of a consistent outside jumper and defensive issues linked to average lateral quickness only exacerbated the problem.

Nevertheless, for the most part, NBA GMs and scouts seem undeterred by Saric's recent struggles.

"I think he is one of the three or four top talents in this draft," said a GM.

An NBA scout said Saric would stack up well with the best U.S. college players.

"If he played college ball this year, he would've been one of the top five players in America," said the scout. "He was in a bad situation there [Croatia]. His talent didn't go away."

Lately, Saric has started to prove that he's still got game. He's played much better in the Croatian playoffs, averaging 14 points, eight rebounds and two assists per game. He's getting more minutes at point guard and is clearly thriving with the ball in his hands more.

While many GMs have Saric in the 15-25 pick range, a few have him much higher. One NBA scout told me his team had him ranked as the second-best small forward in the draft afterOtto Porter. Another GM said that after Ben McLemore, Nerlens Noel and Porter, there isn't another player in the draft with more upside than Saric.

Saric said he tries to model his game after Magic Johnson.

"My desire is to be close to the philosophy of basketball of [the] greatest Laker Magic Johnson," Saric said in an e-mail interview with ESPN.com. "Of course, it is nice for every player to score, including me, but my biggest challenge is how [to make better] other players of my team on the court. This is what I like to do, and this is what I want to learn and doing better day by day."

It sounds as if Saric wants to make the leap to the NBA if the right team commits. He has a modest buyout of $1.2 million euros. If an NBA team shows interest in the lottery, he's likely to stay in the draft and come straight to the NBA this season.

"I am happy here and focused only on Cibona," Saric said. "[The] NBA is my dream, but I'll never be there just because I was there. I want to be there and be the best. If none of [the] NBA teams do not recognize me as such a player, than I never will have to [go] to the NBA. But if some of NBA teams recognize my quality and ambition and show a sincere desire to elect me than I am ready to come immediately.

"When this will happen, and if it will ever happen it does not depend on me," Saric continued. "We are going to offer, but if interest will not be like we expect and wish, we will definitely be withdraw before the draft."

The deadline for early entry withdrawal from the NBA draft is June 17 at 5 p.m. EST.