Six months ago, James Wiseman underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus that he suffered on the court versus the Rockets. Since then, the first-year Warriors big man has been undergoing treatment to make sure that he’s ready for an on-court return later in this season. That hasn’t stopped the team from helping Wiseman get some work in, recruiting international retired center Dejan Milojevic. Dejan suffered an ACL tear at age 19, forcing him to change things up from an athletic force of nature to “analyzing every situation on the court” (per Anthony Slater of The Athletic). His head coaching experience produced a myriad of Serbian players now in the NBA, including some guy named Nikola Jokic, before he made his way to the Warriors.

Milojevic’s work with Wiseman (and Kevon Looney) is probably one of the better things that can happen in the second-year player’s time off for injury. As Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said, Europe’s tendency to produce bigs is unmatched: Of the top centers in the NBA last season according to ESPN’s John Hollinger, seven of the top fifteen centers (Jokic, Valanciunas, Gobert, Vucevic, Kanter, Porzingis, and Nurkic) were from Europe. The Euro philosophy towards basketball mimics the days of the NBA before the advent of Steph Curry and the super-spacing era. If the Dubs want to develop Wiseman into a big of that caliber, then getting a former head coach who has overseas experience and has earned the moniker, “The Serbian Barkley” is one of the best ways you can do that.

So how does this coaching philosophy pay off? “He’s teaching me the basic fundamentals of the game,” said Wiseman to Slater this past week, working on everything from basic dribbling drills meant mostly for guards to controlling pace and ensuring Wiseman doesn’t rush in the low and mid-post, which anyone who watched a Warriors game last year knows he could use a bit of. While Wiseman is an athletic specimen and a unique talent, the little things he does and the workout videos we saw pre-draft of him putting on combos even some regular-sized NBA guards can’t pull off are only signs of what to come. He is still a very raw talent, and this approach to his development is a warm welcome. Milojevic went on the record saying that he wanted to ensure Wiseman developed into the player that Wiseman could be, not fit some kind of mold that other big men before him had made.

To Milojevic’s credit, Wiseman’s potential to be unique is pretty astounding and a big reason why the Warriors saw so much value in that #2 pick. It’s not every day that you get a 7-footer with a competent-looking shooting stroke, a solid if developing handle, and flashes of game IQ on both ends of the floor, and it seems like Golden State’s prerogative is to take their time with him. Whether that looks like a G-League stint or not, Wiseman looks ready to go and get after it when the staff clears him to play.

(Photo via CBS Sports)