Pajevic Is Thriving After Facing Death in Sarajevo

Nedim Pajevic has experienced the worst kind of full-court pressure.

It was early during the Bosnian conflict when a tank pulled up outside the apartment complex where the Pajevic family lived in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The pre-teen boy and other inhabitants of the building piled into the basement, their only defense a hunting rifle and a few Molotov cocktails.

“We thought we were going to die,” Pajevic said. “If they fired one round into the basement, it would have killed us all.”

Luckily, the tank left the scene without inflicting any damage.

A few years later, Pajevic fled to the United States, where he would eventually become a standout basketball player at Newport Harbor High. Memories of his homeland conflict, however, linger like a chilling dream.

All Pajevic has to do to remind himself is glance at his left leg, which bears four scars from shrapnel wounds he suffered when he was 8. Pajevic was playing outside when he heard a whistling noise a few seconds before a mortar round exploded near him. The boy didn’t realize he was hurt until he smelled the stench of his burning flesh.

“There was blood gushing left and right,” said Pajevic, who required three months of medical treatment. “I was lucky because it didn’t touch any major bones or nerves.”

Pajevic’s father, Mustafa, an army commander, suffered more serious injuries. A bullet hit his shoulder and shrapnel embedded in his ankle and chest, a few millimeters from his heart. Rather than leave his troops and seek treatment, Mustafa wrapped his chest in gauze and continued fighting.

In 1993, the injured soldier was evacuated to the U.S. by United Nations forces. Nedim, his brother Mirza and mother Emira joined Mustafa in Newport Beach a year later.

The Pajevics have enjoyed a storybook turnaround. Practically destitute upon its arrival, the family purchased a house last year and is relishing the kind of comfortable lifestyle it enjoyed in Bosnia. Emira is an accountant at a hospital and Mustafa is a mechanic at a car dealership.

Mustafa has recovered from his injuries, though he still walks with a limp.

And Nedim, 17, has emerged as a star for Newport Harbor (14-8 overall, 6-1 in the Sea View League). The 6-foot-8 senior forward averages team highs in points (16.5), rebounds (13.5) and inspirational stories (countless).

“I can remember complaining to my mom about taking out the trash,” Newport Harbor Coach Larry Hirst said, “and you listen to Nedim -- who’s going to win, the guy in the tank or you with the hunting rifle? -- and it puts things in perspective.”

Rider, New Mexico and San Jose State are recruiting the three-year varsity starter, an easygoing sort who speaks without a hint of an accent. Nedim credits his language skills to his mother, who helped him with his homework and taught herself English while working as a maid upon their arrival in Newport Beach.

Nedim is so popular among local Bosnians that he has a cheering section of 20 to 30 people each game. He doesn’t know whether he will return to Bosnia after college but he already realizes what he would be leaving behind.

“America is the land of opportunity, but nothing’s going to be handed to you,” he said. “It’s what you make of it. You have to apply yourself.”

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Mark Berokoff, who guided Anaheim Heritage Christian (now Fullerton Eastside Christian) to a Southern Section championship game and Downey Calvary Chapel to a section title, is in the middle of another successful reclamation project with his third team, Morro Bay.

The Pirates may be in third place in the Los Padres League after a heartbreaking loss to Santa Maria St. Joseph last week, but there are plenty of positive signs.

Morro Bay is 13-8 after finishing 7-17 last season. Earlier this season, the Pirates defeated neighbor San Luis Obispo for only the fourth time in 42 seasons.

Berokoff, 28, was drawn to the area more for its beauty than its basketball tradition. He believed Morro Bay would be a good place to rear his 2-year-old daughter and enjoyed the prospect of being surrounded by a plethora of wineries.

He was pleasantly surprised to find the Pirate lineup stocked with such rare finds as Danny Anderson, a 6-5 junior forward who Berokoff said is the second-best player he has coached behind Utah guard Tim Drisdom.

Anderson, a muscular post player with a deft outside touch, is averaging 14 points and eight rebounds and is converting 83% of his free throws. Senior guard Derrick Dickson, who averages 13.5 points and six rebounds, is another solid contributor.

“I’ve been fortunate to come into programs that were down but had good players,” Berokoff said. “The first year is always the toughest no matter what kind of talent you have. The second year is better because the kids know your system and conditioning program and you know the kids.”

Don’t be surprised if Berokoff puts Morro Bay in a position to win its second section title in school history within a year or two.

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Former San Bernardino coach Jesse Spinner said he is looking to “move forward in a positive direction” after embezzlement charges were dismissed against him last week.

Spinner, 36, said he has been unable to get a teaching or coaching job since the charges were leveled against him in February 2002. The former Crenshaw, Texas A&M; and Grambling player was fired as San Bernardino coach in January 2002 for what he was told was his lackluster 5-6 record and inability to hire assistant coaches in a timely manner.

San Bernardino has gone 6-27 under two coaches since Spinner’s dismissal.

Spinner paid the San Bernardino City Unified School District the $1,303.75 that district officials claimed he had embezzled. Spinner said his payment was not an admission of guilt; he merely wanted to avoid extending the lengthy court proceedings that have prevented him from gaining employment.

Spinner has spent the last year working on his teaching credential. He also briefly volunteered as an assistant coach at Hope International in Brea.