Yugoslav Players Are the New Stars in Italy

American players have long been the high-priced stars of Italian basketball teams, but this year they will have some competition for money and glory from a trio of Yugoslav stars.

When league play tips off on Sunday it will feature Toni Kukoc, Jurij Zdovc and Dino Radja, all of whom rejected NBA teams to play in Italy.

They already have won Olympic, European and world titles for Yugoslavia, and are the most expensive foreign players ever signed by Italian clubs.

Kukoc, 23, a 6-foot-10 forward with an excellent outside shot and extremely good ball-handling skills for a big man, has joined Benetton Treviso for $15.3 million.

“Kukoc will be difficult to guard for American players performing in Italy, as his talent can hardly be stopped,” said Dan Peterson, a former coach of Philips Milan and a commentator for an Italian television network.

“However, he must prove he can defend successfully. This is exactly what NBA teams want to know, because I am sure Kukoc’s future will be in the NBA.”

Kukoc rejected the Chicago Bulls when he moved to Treviso, but said the NBA still is on his mind.

“Playing in the NBA is the dream of every basketball player,” said Kukoc, considered Europe’s best player.

Zdovc, a Slovenian who missed the final games of the European Championships in June when his breakaway republic asked athletes to withdraw from Yugoslav national teams, has been signed by Knorr Bologna and will team with NBA veteran Bill Wennington of Canada.

Zdovc is a last-minute substitute for American guard Micheal Ray Richardson, who was dropped by Knorr earlier this month after positive results from two tests for cocaine.

Radja, the first Yugoslav player to sign a multi-million dollar contract, plays his second season in Italy with Messaggero Roma.

Americans still will account for 27 of the 32 foreign players in the Italian league. Each of the 16 teams is allowed to field two non-Italian players.

The most popular American newcomers are Ricky Mahorn, Anthony Avent, Adrian Caldwell and Reggie Theus.

Mahorn will team with Radja on Messaggero. Avent will play for Phonola Caserta and Caldwell joined Clear Cantu. Theus signed with Ranger Varese.

Brazilian veteran Oscar Schmidt, the all-time leading scorer in the Italian league with 10,903 points, starts his 10th season in Italy with Fernet Branca Pavia.

Philips Milan, coached by American Mike D’Antoni, signed Darryl Dawkins, the king of slam-dunking.

Vinny Del Negro, one of the league’s top scorers last season, extended his contract with Benetton Treviso and will play with Kukoc and Rusconi.

That makes Treviso the favorite for the title, but there is a recent habit of big-spending teams folding in the playoffs.

Messaggero Roma, which spent millions of dollars in the last two seasons to lure Radja and Americans Danny Ferry, Brian Shaw and Michael Cooper, failed to make the finals. All three of the Americans have since returned home.

The high spending of Italian clubs, which sometimes have outbid NBA teams for top European and American players, has drawn the attention of international basketball officials -- who recently suggested NBA-like salary caps for European teams.

Boris Stankovic, president of the International Basketball Federation, said salary caps are necessary to guarantee a balance of power between wealthy and poorer clubs.