After a 2003-04 season that saw it reach the brink of several successes, KK Zadar has put together a young roster for a new campaign in which it has high hopes of going one step further wherever it plays. Zadar's 5-5 ULEB Cup record last season left it a few points short of the elimination rounds, marking a just-miss trend that included second-place finishes later in the Croatian League and Cup. Two veteran pillars from that team are gone - Davor Marcelic and Emilio Kovacic - but five solid signings should make up for their absences. One alone, 39-year-old legend Aramis Naglic, promises to bring the kind of veteran leadership from which young players like Jakov Vladovic, Marko Banic and Sime Spralja will benefit. The other key newcomers, scoring guard Juby Johnson and big man Todor Gecevski, will have a lot to say about whether Zadar can make the extra step from challenger to true ULEB Cup contender this season.
Zadar hopes that the loss of veteran Marcelic, a shooter now at Pau-Orthez, will be offset by the signing of Johnson, who arrives on the heels of a stellar career at University of Miami of Ohio and could become one of the more exciting players in the ULEB Cup this season. Johnson averaged 17.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in 29 NCAA games last season, scoring in double digits in the last 20 games. The arrival of Naglic, two-time Euroleague champion with Jugoplastika Split in his youth, should bring some know-how to a young team. At his last stop, Traiskirchen of Astria, Naglic was still good for more than 20 points per game. Zadar's second-oldest player, at 26, is Gecevski, who will replace Kovacic in the middle. He arrives from Rabotnicki, champion of Macedonia, where he was the league's third-best scorer and top rebounder. The 2.09-meter big man also averaged 15 points and 8.3 assists in the FIBA Europe Cup. His perimeter shooting skills and running ability will add an element to Zadar''s attack that was not present last season.

The other new names on Zadar are big guards Sinisa Stemberger and Pankracije Barac Stemberger averaged 19.2 points with Rijeka last season and is a three-point threat. Barac put up 16.3 points and 3.3 assists on average for Hiron Botinec in Croatia. Barac will be backing up Vladovic, Zadar's top returning scorer with 14 points per ULEB Cup game last season. Though just 21, he'll run the show again, while Zadar looks to some other young players to contribute similarly. Forwards Banic (20) and Spralja (21) are coming off Croatian national team duty and will have expanded roles this season. Banic showed great promise last year, averaging 8.2 points and 5 rebounds in 22 minutes per ULEB Cup game last season. Spralja had proportional numbers in half the playing time. He or another young forward, Toni Dijan, could find more minutes to show their skills in 2004-05, when the Zadar youth movement will look to surprise its European opponents with plenty of energy and talent.

2004-05 Roster
Name Pos. Ht. Born
4- Stemberger, Sinisa G 196 1979
5- Vladovic, Jakov G 185 1983
6- Ivanov, Ive G 200 1985
9- Gecevski, Todor C 209 1978
10- Spralja, Sime C 206 1983
12- Dijan, Toni F 203 1983
13- Banic, Marko F 204 1984
14- Naglic, Aramis F 203 1965
- Barac, Pankracije G 196 1981
- Johnson, Juby G 196 1981
- Lalic, Jure C 211 1986