Savovic has earned a place in the hearts of Hawai'i fans
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Sa-vo! Sa-vo! Sa-vo! ...
• Most 3-pointers, career 1, Predrag Savovic 2, Alika Smith 3, Mike McIntyre 4, Trevor Ruffin (1992-94) 122 5, Tes Whitlock • • • • Most points, career 1, Chris Gaines 2, John Penebacker 3, Alika Smith 4, Melton Werts 5, Predrag Savovic • • • • Highest scoring average, season 1, Gavin Smith 2, Anthony Harris 3, Trevor Ruffin 4, Tom Henderson 5, Fred Smith 6, Predrag Savovic • • • • Most 20-point games, career 1, Chris Gaines 2, Predrag Savovic 3, Tom Henderson 4, Alika Smith 5, Anthony Carter
Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center, 9,010 grateful admirers stood as one and chanted for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball player with jersey No. 1 — Predrag Savovic.
Where Savovic stands in the UH record book
(1999-2002) 162
(1994-98) 161
(1998-2002) 143
(1994-96) 109
(1986-90) 1,734
(1969-73) 1,519
(1994-98) 1,415
(1972-76) 1,314
(1999-2002) 1,309
(1976-77) 23.4
(1995-96) 22.4
(1993-94) 20.8
(1973-74) 20.2
(1967-68) 20.2
(2001-02) 20.1
(1985-89) 33
(1999-2002) 28
(1972-74) 26
(1994-98) 25
(1996-98) 24
"It really meant a lot to me," said Savovic, who responded by taking several bows and blowing kisses to the crowd as tears rolled down his face. "It made me feel like I really left something here, something that the people appreciate."
He has certainly done that.
Savovic is the undoubted star of a magical Rainbow Warriors team that has captured the attention of the entire state. The 6-foot-6 senior is the leading scorer for Hawai'i, which is 23-4 overall and 14-2 in the Western Athletic Conference.
The 'Bows played their home finale Saturday — the chanting came during a postgame ceremony honoring Savovic and fellow seniors Mindaugas Burneika and Mike McIntyre.
Tomorrow, they will play at Nevada, followed by a Saturday game at Fresno State. Hawai'i needs to win at least one of two to clinch the top seed for next week's WAC Tournament at Tulsa, Okla.
"All along, I knew this would be a great team," Savovic said. "But it's working out maybe even a little better than I expected."
Sa-vo! Sa-vo! Sa-vo! ...
"For what he's done for this team, and where we are in the league (standings), you have to say Savo is the MVP of the WAC," UH head coach Riley Wallace said.
The WAC will reveal its postseason awards next week, as voted by the 10 conference coaches. Savovic is a virtual guarantee to repeat as a first-team selection.
The top award, however, is called Player of the Year, and so Wallace is not sure of Savovic's chances. Fresno State center Melvin Ely won it last year, and is having an even better statistical season this year. But the Bulldogs are 8-8 in the WAC and currently tied for fifth place.
"I've always felt like the first thing you should look at is the success of that player's team," Wallace said.
In UH's 16 WAC games, Savovic has averaged 21.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
Sa-vo! Sa-vo! Sa-vo! ...
"If you think about all the great ones we've had here, I'd put Savo up there with any of them," Wallace said. "It's hard to compare, but I'd put Savo on my team any time."
Based on statistics alone, Savovic is worthy.
In three seasons at UH, he has scored 1,309 points. Only four 'Bows scored more, and those four all did so in four seasons.
In a 79-50 rout of Rice Saturday, Savovic became UH's all-time leader in 3-pointers with 162.
"Some people will say all my points come from 3-point line," Savovic said. "But the most important thing in basketball is to adapt, and that's what I always do. I take what the other team will give me."
Sa-vo! Sa-vo! Sa-vo! ...
Remember all that foreign-player controversy with the NCAA?
Savovic doesn't want to. "What's in the past is in the past," he said.
Still, Savovic endured a summer of uncertainty during the NCAA's investigation of foreign players participating with professionals in European leagues. He was ultimately suspended for the first seven games of this season.
"A lot of kids couldn't handle that," Wallace said. "But he stuck with it and never stopped believing in himself."
Savovic could have turned professional in Europe last summer. Instead, he chose to return to UH, a decision he said he would have made even if the NCAA took away his entire senior season.
"I invested four years into my education and I wasn't going to give that up," he said.
In his absence, the 'Bows started this season 6-1.
"It made me realize this team wasn't going to be all about Savo," Savovic said. "I got to see what a great team we had."
Sa-vo! Sa-vo! Sa-vo! ...
It is the middle of a practice and Savovic is dribbling and weaving through bodies as the music blares through the sound system at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The 'Bows finished practicing more than 30 minutes ago. It is the Rainbow Dancers who are now in mid-routine on the court.
"Watch this," Savovic says, as he stops in front of a spinning dancer. "This is in your face."
From 30 feet away, the ball drops cleanly through the net. Savovic smiles, winks at her, then walks off the court.
"That's 'I am Savo' for you," Wallace said.
That legend was born on Jan. 29, 2000, when as a sophomore, Savovic made the clinching free throws in an overtime victory over Texas-El Paso. He explained his composure to the media with a simple, "I am Savo."
Savovic is an international man of mystery — a cross between James Bond and Austin Powers.
One moment, he can be slamming a ball in disgust when a play goes awry in practice. The next, he will be trying to "pants" a teammate.
"I am kind of goofy," he admits. "Sometimes, I act like a mature man; sometimes, I act like a 10-year-old."
Burneika, Savovic's roommate for two years, knows all too well.
"I'll be on the phone with my family and he'll be dancing in front of me with nothing but a towel on," Burneika said. "He has different personalities on and off the court."
Sa-vo! Sa-vo! Sa-vo! ...
In the latest version of a mock draft on NBAdraft.net, Savovic is listed as the 16th pick of the second round, the 45th pick overall.
"I'll give the NBA a shot if they want me, and if I make it, it'll be the best thing to happen in my life," he said. "But if I don't, it won't be the worst thing to happen in my life."
Marty Blake, the NBA Director of Scouting, is convinced that Savovic can earn a spot in the NBA. Blake already got Savovic invited to the prestigious Portsmouth Invitational for the nation's top college seniors in April.
"He's not fast, but he's quicker than you think — look at how he gets his shot off every time," Blake said. "Defense might not be his strongest asset, but he plays it well enough."
Sa-vo! Sa-vo! Sa-vo! ...
Wallace describes Savovic as "a throwback."
"He's dirty, but not cheap dirty," Wallace said. "He's more sneaky dirty."
Case in point: during a game against Fresno State earlier this season, Savovic tugged lightly at the back of Chris Jefferies' jersey as the Bulldog was about to go up for a dunk. Jefferies never reached the rim. No foul was called, except for the technical assessed to Jefferies for arguing.
"Some stuff I do is legal, some is illegal," Savovic said. "But I'm not the quickest guy out there, so I have to find ways to get the job done."
Savovic has also turned the "flop" into an art form as a way of drawing offensive fouls on opposing players.
"It's a part of the game," he said. "If I fall, it's because I get hit first."
Sa-vo! Sa-vo! Sa-vo! ...
Last summer, Savovic returned to his home in Herceg Novi, Yugoslavia for the first time in nearly five years.
In 1996, he and his younger brother, Slobodan, left what was then a war-torn country to pursue a college education — via basketball — in America. Slobodan is now a starting senior guard at Ohio State, which is ranked No. 18 in the latest Associated Press Top 25.
"It was hard to leave my parents," Savovic said. "There were wars being fought all over the country. Nothing was considered safe at that time."
When he returned last summer, Savovic was glad to see the fighting over, yet disappointed in the resulting condition of his homeland.
"Politically, it is still unstable," he said. "The people are more relaxed, but there is no direction. Many buildings are ruined; cars parked all over the place. I thought it would look better."
It only made Savovic more fond of Hawai'i.
"If there is a future for me in Hawai'i, that is where I want to live after basketball," he said.
Sa-vo! Sa-vo! Sa-vo! ...
Among Savovic's impressive statistics is a 3.25 cumulative grade-point average.
In May, he will receive his degree as a double major in finance and international business.
He has already applied to UH's Richardson School of Law, and dreams of becoming an international corporate lawyer.
"Education was what first brought me to America," Savovic said. "Basketball was just a way to get it."
During the off-season, he is a technician for Mid-Pacific Testing and Inspection.
"You have to separate basketball from everything else," he said. "I don't want basketball to be my whole life."
Sa-vo! Sa-vo! Sa-vo! ...
In typical Savovic lore, he was discovered by Wallace at a basketball clinic in California. Savovic was not a participant.
"He was actually playing in a pick-up game after," Wallace said. "I could see he had the talent, so I asked about him. It was pure luck."
Savovic had just left Alabama-Birmingham after a frustrating freshman season. Hawai'i became his paradise found.
"Best decision of my life," he said.
Now, he is on the final road trip of his collegiate career, one he hopes doesn't end for a while.
"Every love comes to an end, and this is my final chapter," Savovic said. "But I want this story to have a happy ending."
