Don't be fooled by a lack of NBA names on the roster. After successive sixth placed finishes at Eurobasket 2007 and last years Olympic Games in Beijing, Croatia have raised the bar for themselves. With a system that suits the players and the expert hand of Jasmin Repesa at the helm, they have standards to maintain while dreams of a medal have a genuine chance of being fulfilled if luck is on their side.

Mario Kasun

Having announced their arrival back on the big stage with an appearance in Beijing and a credible sixth placed finish, following a similarly successful EuroBasket 2007, the next few years are essential ones for Coach Repesa and his team.

They have got their foot firmly back in the door of the higher echelons of not just European, but world basketball, and they not only want to keep this status, they need to now push on and see if they genuinely have what it takes to challenge for a medal again - or whether they have reached their natural level and will plateau.

Even qualifying for the Olympics was a major deal for Croatian basketball. It marked a return to a top world level tournament after 12 years in the wilderness with memories such as that of the legendary 1992 Drazen Petrovic led team rapidly fading. Few expected them to make such a big impression in China, but they did and while respectability and pride isn't on the same level as their illustrious past, it is nevertheless a marked change in the right direction.

At the last EuroBasket championships, Croatia were without some influential players such as Giricek and Vujcic but still excelled by grabbing that Olympic slot and taking the prize scalp of host nation Spain in the process.

This time some key players could return to the mix including Vujcic while fellow big man Mario Kasun could also be back after resting last summer. With that in mind, it is in the front-court where Croatia seem to be particularly strong and this could be important as it gives them a big advantage in the group stages over Israel, and FYR of Macedonia and helps them match up better than most team with front-runners Greece.

That is not to say they don't have quality at the guard positions. Not least Roko-Leni Ukic who is the

Roko-Leni Ukic

sole player on the roster attached to an NBA team and comes into the tournament having enjoyed his rookie year across the Pond averaging more minutes than most had expected with the Raptors and helping to fill the shoes of the injured Jose Calderon.

His influence on this Croatian team will be significant and if he can finally get his outside shot going then this could be a major difference between disappointment and a genuine shot at a medal. Indeed looking at the draw, it is likely that Croatia will have what it takes to maintain the standards they have set in the last two years and with a bit of luck, even improve on this.

Their strength in many ways is that they don't have any real stellar names, and that means they have to rely on a very strong team ethic and playing to a system that everyone seems to trust and is really effective. Unlike some other nations with superstar performers, Croatia will get things done as one unit and not rely on any individuals. This in itself is one reason for their consistency of late. A Luol Deng, Dirk Nowitzki or Ibo Jaaber goes stone cold or gets injured for their respective nations and a giant hole needs to be filled - this scenario barely exists with Croatia. In the cut and thrust of tournament basketball with the physical and mental demands, this is an advantage and dynamic often overlooked and why they might quietly and efficiently sneak up on the rails to make a play for the Semi-Finals.