U18 Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana forward Lon Lican watches the best Slovenia has to offer on his club and observing what Cedevita’s first-team does prepared him to show what he can do at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Ljubljana.
U18 Cedevita star Lican enjoys learning from Blazic
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Lican helped Cedevita to a 1-2 record in the group phase of the ANGT Ljubljana, where he averaged 13.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.7 steals. Cedevita will face U18 Basket Brno for fifth place in the first ANGT event in the Slovenian capital.
“It’s a great honor to play at home,” said Lican, a native of Ljubljana who is making his ANGT debut. “When you see all of the great players who have played at this tournament it’s really special to me to be part of the ANGT.”
Cedevita and Lican learned their lessons from the tournament, losing to U18 Zalgiris Kaunas.
“You need to play physical and make more smart decisions,” said Lican about what he learned from the tournament.
Lican has played for several teams for Cedevita this season: the U17 and U19 youth sides as well the second team in the third division. In the U19 ABA tournament, Lican averaged 5.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.8 steals to help the club reach the Final Four. He also had a chance to watch some of the top Slovenian players on Cedevita’s pro team, including Zoran Dragic, Jaka Blazic, Edo Muric and Alen Omic.
“I really like to watch Jaka Blazic and learn some skills from him,” Lican said.
The 1.94-meter forward is excited about Cedevita’s upcoming 7DAYS EuroCup eighthfinals matchup with Turk Telekom Ankara.
“I think they are playing unselfish and tough. It’s nice to watch them having fun on and off the court. If they continue playing like this they really have good chances,” Lican said.
The youngster himself has already given his country a magical moment when he averaged 9.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals at the FIBA U16 European Challengers 2021 to help Slovenia qualify for the 2022 FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup - the first time the country will play at the global showcase.
“If you play with your heart you can beat anyone,” Lican said about the country’s appearance in the continental tournament last summer. “It feels amazing, and I hope this trend continues with other generations.”
One look at Lican’s Twitter feed and it’s clear which Slovenian basketball player means the most to him - Luka Doncic.
“I like his decision making and his passing and his hunger for winning and improving,” Lican said.
And Doncic was integral to one of the country’s biggest accomplishments, winning the FIBA EuroBasket 2017.
“I was so excited and proud to be Slovenian,” he said.
Now Lican hopes he can give the club and country other highlights.