Roko Prkačin
No. 8 – CB Gran Canaria
PositionPower forward
LeagueLiga ACB
Personal information
Born (2002-11-26) 26 November 2002
Zagreb, Croatia
NationalityCroatian
Listed height2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Listed weight102 kg (225 lb)
Career information
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2022Cibona
2018–2019→ Rudeš
2022–2023Girona
2023–presentGran Canaria
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Croatia
European U-16 Championship
Gold medal – first place2018 SerbiaU-16 Team

Roko Prkačin (born 26 November 2002) is a Croatian professional basketball player for Girona of the Liga ACB. Standing at 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in), he plays at the power forward position.

Early career

Prkačin grew up in the youth system of Cibona. At a very early age he started to stand out among his teammates. With the U-16 Cibona team, in 2017 he won U-16 Europe Youth Basketball League Tournament. He was the tournament's top scorer and was named the MVP.[1] He also played the 2017–18 Junior ABA League and 2018–19 Junior ABA League even though he was in average two to three years younger than his teammates.[2][3] In June 2019, he attended the Basketball Without Borders Europe camp in Riga, Latvia.[4]

Professional career

In August 2018, Cibona decided to loan Prkačin to KK Rudeš of the second-tier Croatian First League.[5] After playing very well in Rudeš he was called-up for the Cibona senior team in January 2019.[6][7] On 12 January 2019, Prkačin made his professional and Adriatic League debut for Cibona in a 89–68 loss to Cedevita, making 6 points and 6 rebounds.[8] Through 5 Adriatic League games in the 2018–19 season, Prkačin averaged 2.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game.[9] On 24 September 2020, Prkačin was promoted as the new team captain of Cibona, becoming the youngest captain in clubs history at 17 years and 10 months of age.[10] Following the 2020–21 season Prkačin declared for the 2021 NBA draft. On July 19, 2021, he withdrawn his name from consideration for the 2021 NBA draft.[11]

On July 21, 2022, Prkačin signed with Girona.

National team career

Youth teams

Prkačin was a member of the Croatia under-17 team that took 7th place at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup.[12] In this tournament he averaged 12.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.[13]

In the same summer of 2018, Prkačin played with the Croatia under-16 team that won the gold medal at the 2018 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship held in Novi Sad.[14] Over seven tournament games, he averaged 18.6 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.0 blocks per game and was honored with the tournament's MVP title along with a spot in the All-Star Five team.[15]

Senior team

On 27 November 2020, one day after his 18th birthday, Prkačin made his debut for the Croatia national team at the EuroBasket 2022 qualification in a 79–62 win over Turkey, making 6 points and one rebound.[16][17]

Personal life

Roko is a son of the former professional basketball player Nikola Prkačin.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "Kadeti Cibone prvaci Europe!". basketball.hr (in Croatian). 27 May 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  2. ↑ "FOTO: Prkačin se za rođendan počastio sa 16 koševa". basketball.hr (in Croatian). 26 November 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  3. ↑ "#ABAFutureStars: Players To Watch". aba-liga.com. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "64 top boys and girls from 26 European countries head to Latvia for 18th Basketball Without Borders Europe Camp". pr.nba.com. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  5. ↑ "Roko Prkačin iz Cibone ide na posudbu u Rudeš". basketball.hr (in Croatian). 20 August 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "Sjajni Roko Prkačin dominira nad seniorima". germanijak.hr (in Croatian). 22 October 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "Bitno je zvati se Roko - dva važna Cibonina poteza za spas sezone". basketball.hr (in Croatian). 4 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  8. ↑ "Round 15: Cedevita Zagreb 89 - 68 Cibona Zagreb". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  9. ↑ "Player Game Statistics 2018/19 Roko Prkačin". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  10. ↑ "Dečko star 17 godina i 10 mjeseci novi je kapetan Cibone: "Otac je sada najponosniji"". index.hr. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  11. ↑ "NBA announces 51 early entry candidates withdraw from 2021 Draft". nba.com. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  12. ↑ Croatia at 2018 FIBA U-17 World Cup
  13. ↑ Roko Prkacin stats at 2018 FIBA U-17 World Cup
  14. ↑ "Prkacin dominates instant classic, leads Croatia to first gold since 2011". FIBA. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  15. ↑ ""I told the coach to draw the last play up for me," says MVP Prkacin". FIBA. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  16. ↑ "Sin slavnog Hrvata debitirao za Hrvatsku s 18 godina: Ovo je slađe od rođendanske torte". vecernji.hr. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  17. ↑ "27 November 2020, Croatia 79–62 Turkey". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  18. ↑ "Sin Nikše Prkačina osvaja Europu: Najsretniji sam kad čujem da je bolji od mene". index.hr (in Croatian). 18 August 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
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