World champions Serbia & Montenegro go into the EuroBasket like a wounded animal after their Olympic failure.

Despite playing with an understrength team, no one expected Zeljko Obradovic and Co to lose so many games - including defeats against China and New Zealand - that they would fail to even reach the quarter-finals of the Athens Games.

The disappointment means there is an extra sense of urgency for the Serbo-Montenegrins to win the EuroBasket.

		“	I missed the joy we used to bring to our nation.	„
		Marko Jaric

Not only do they want the gold medal for their fans, Serbia & Montenegro want to make up for last summer.

One of the players who has missed the past couple of summers with the national team is Marko Jaric, a sweet-shooting guard who now has three years of NBA experience.

Jaric is playing at the EuroBasket but because of insurance issues, he and fellow NBA players Zeljko Rebraca and Vladimir Radmanovic have not taken part in all the preparations.

The Blues gathered in Belgrade on August 2, and then Obradovic took them to the Kopaonik training camp where the tough, physical workouts are notoriously difficult, on August 7.

Radmanovic joined the national team on August 8, Rebraca two days later and then Jaric on August 15.

All three should be vital components, particularly Jaric who showed his ability to hit the long-range shot at training soon after his arrival.

When asked if he was happy to have recently been traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Jaric smiled to journalists, walked onto the court and promptly buried 20 consecutive three-pointers before his first practice with the "Blues".

"Two years, now, I have been away from European courts," he said.

"All of this seems to be smaller then usual, look where the arc is. Aren't these baskets lower then they should be, too?"

The NBA courts are a little bigger.

Jaric has the look of a player who could step onto the floor and beat any defence with his long-range shooting, but he says he is not ready to go at full throttle just yet.

"I'm in shooting form, but my physical condition is what I really need to improve," he admitted.

"I look forward to the forthcoming days, I missed these guys, and I missed the joy we used to bring to our nation.

"I think it is the right moment to prove we are still the best, and is there any better place for that than in our country, in front of our fans?"