She played basketball in the highest of Croatia when she was 16 years old. Elena Peričić played in Rijeka, but moved to America since 2022. She is about to keep growing as a player! Photo: FIBA Europe

1.  Let’s introduce yourself, who are you?

“My name is Elena Peričić, I am 20 years old. Right now I am studying in America at Salem University in West-Virginia. I am a sophomore at the moment.”

2.  How did you start playing basketball?

“I started playing basketball when I was ten years old. One of the coaches came to my school and gave a presentation about basketball. At first I played just for fun, but later on I wanted to play professional.”

3.  At what age did you decide to play professionally?

“I was playing with boys all the time. When I became 16 years old I played with the girls, and started to work hard to become a professional basketball player.”

4.  What kind of player are you?

“I can play on every position, but most of the time I play on the small forward position.”

5. How was it for you to play basketball for the first time?

“Throughout my career I went through a lot: different coaches, different plays and some ups and downs. Those were the times to work hard on myself to get stronger, which helped me a lot.”

6.  How was it for you to play on the highest league of Croatia?

“I was pretty scared, because I was the youngest. Though I didn’t play that much, I learned a lot. During my second and third season I got more minutes to play.”

7.  How would you describe your team on the highest league, FSV Rijeka?

“Most of my team were just as young as me. Would tried to be the leader of the team, though we were pretty young.”

8. Right now you are in West-Virginia, because you moved in 2022 to America. How is it to play over there?

“It was a little struggle at first. You have to play a different style of playing basketball, but you understand the game a lot more when you are used to it.”

9. What can you say about the team?

“We have a lot of different players, and we also have a new coach. I will play a lot of games, and we will keep growing a lot.”

10. You are also a Croatian international. Being an international at the under 18 team in 2021, how is that be like?

“It was pretty stressful for me. It was the first time for me, so I was trying to put myself in different positions. I was quite young back then.”

11. Last summer you played a great European championship with the under 20 team in the B division with an average of 11 points and 8 rebounds per game. What would you say about that tournament?