Career: Sloboda Dita Tuzla (Former Yugoslavia – First Division, 1989-92), B.C. Split (Croatia-First Division, 1992-95), Netas Spor Kulubu (Turkey-First Division, 1995-1997); Tuborg Izmir (Turkey-First Division, 1997-99); Troy Pilsner Izmir (Turkey-First Division, 1999-2001); Fenerbahçe Istanbul (Turkey-First Division, 2001-02); Unics Kazan (Russia-Superleague, 2002-03); Dynamo Moscow (Russia-Superleague, 2003-04); Fenerbahçe Istanbul (Turkey-First Division, 2004-…)
The Damir Mrsic story dates back to the golden days of Yugoslav basketball. Damir made his first steps in Sloboda Dita Tuzla in the late nineties. Damir was born just a few years after the golden generation of Divac, Kukoc, Radja and Sasha Djordjevic. Blessed with above average skills, he had just begun to make himself a name – winning the 1992 Yugoslav All Star Game three-point shooting contest - when the war broke out. His native Bosnia was worst hit and Damir soon moved to look elsewhere to fulfill his basketball dream. His first destination was Split, in Croatia, which was still entangled in a bloody civil conflict. He stayed there for three years and ironically, in the year the war in his country finally ended, Mrsic went abroad, moving this time to Turkey. This proved the the right move: in his subsequent career, Damir played for four Turkish clubs; he led the Turkish league in overall points scored twice and in assists once. He obtained Turkish citizenship and an adoptive name, Demir Kaan. Other than two seasons in the Russian Superleague, Turkey has been his home for nearly ten years. At the same time, Damir has always responded to the national team call. It was the same this summer, although the sharp shooting point guard is 35 years old. “I am always there when my country needs me, it’s a privilege to wear the national jersey” he said. Just like his game, Damir’s manners are old school, in the best meaning of the term. Last season, with Fenerbahçe, he was the 4th scorer (20.3 ppg) to go along his 4.5 assists per game.
