Žak Smrekar signed first professional contract with Krka
The Novo mesto-born player Žak Smrekar (197 cm, 2006) will continue to wear the jersey of Krka in the forthcoming season, as he signed his first professional contract with Krka.
Zak Smrekar (Photo: Krka/Drago Perko/kosarka.si)
“It is truly a great feeling after signing the agreement with the club where I started my basketball journey. I remember how I used to come to the games as a kid, and have desired to play for the senior squad myself as well. With this contract my dream came true. I know, that there is a huge leap ahead of me from the youth categories to senior team. I am also aware of the fact, that I will have to keep working even harder in order to fulfil my goals and expectations. I wish to thank all of my previous coaches that brought me to that level, where I am now. I wish to warrant the trust and expectations. I am also looking forward to the games in front of home crowd, which I would like to invite to support us in the forthcoming season,” Žak Smrekar told.
Žak Smrekar turned 18 years of age this year and he has been playing basketball in the Novo mesto club ever since 2012, when he joined the basketball academy. He made his mark with the youth categories of Slovenia National Team. In 2022 he played at the U16 European Championship. In the just finished season, he also played for SC Derby at the EuroLeague Next Generation Tournament.
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Žak Smrekar podpisal prvo pogodbo s Krko
Dres Krke bo v novi sezoni nosil tudi Novomeščan Žak Smrekar (197 cm, 2006), ki je s Krko podpisal prvo profesionalno pogodbo.
„Res dober občutek je po podpisu prve pogodbe s klubom, kjer sem začel svojo košarkarsko pot. Spomnim se, kako sem kot majhen otrok prihajal na tekme in si želel, da bi tudi sam enkrat zaigral v članski ekipi. S tem podpisom pogodbe se mi je uresničila zelo velika želja. Vem, da je pred mano zahteven preskok iz mladinske v člansko ekipo. Zavedam se tudi, da bom moral še trdneje delati, da bom izpolnil vse svoje cilje in pričakovanja. Na tem mestu bi se zahvalil vsem trenerjem, ki so me pripeljali do stopnje, kjer sem sedaj. Želim si upravičiti izkazano zaupanje in pričakovanja. Veselim pa se tudi tekem pred domačo publiko, ki jo na tem mestu vabim, da nas v novi sezoni podpre,“ je povedal Žak Smrekar.
Žak Smrekar je letos dopolnil 18 let, v novomeškem klubu je od leta 2012, ko je prišel v šolo košarke. Nase je opozoril v mlajših reprezentančnih selekcijah. Leta 2022 je s Slovenijo igral na evropskem prvenstvu reprezentanc do 16 let. Letos aprila pa je z reprezentanco U18 na močnem mednarodnem turnirju v Nemčiji osvojil končno peto mesto. Žak je bil z 18 točkami na tekmo 5. strelec tekmovanja ter 2. najbolj natančni košarkar pri metu za tri točke (53.8%). V sezoni, ki se je končala, je v dresu ekipe SC Derby zaigral tudi v mladinski evroligi.
