Tijana Djukic looks to rebound in senior season

Tijana Djukic has seen herself slip into an offensive slump recently in conference play — a slump that has more to do with what’s inside her mind than what happens on the court.

At season’s start, the senior post for the Utah State University women’s basketball team was an obvious star. Defensively and offensively, Djukic’s coaches said, they could count on her.

As one of the only returning players ,and one of the few with Division I experience, her fast start was expected. Early on in the season, she was ranked among the Mountain West’s top-25 scorers.

But over the past few games, Djukic has grown dissatisfied with her play.

She referred to two recent performances, in which she averaged three rebounds and one and a half points, as “yucky.”

“I try thinking why I stopped being as effective as I was supposed to be,” Djukic said. “My confidence has gotten lower than it was when I started this season.”

This isn’t a new experience for her. Djukic said she has a habit of sinking into a cycle. One missed shot leads to another. Mistake by mistake, it brings her down mentally. The difficulty she has taking herself from this negative mindset into a positive one has hindered her in past seasons, specifically last season — her second year at Utah State.

“Sometimes I’m like ‘OK, you came here from so far away and your mom sacrificed so much for you and you are doing nothing for it,'” Djukic said. “Everyone is giving me everything and I’m not producing whatever I’m supposed to — a double-double in a game at least.”

Not everyone expects so much from her.

“We’ve got to have her on the floor because of her strengths,” post coach Ben Finkbeiner said. “But she thinks ‘Coach don’t play me because of my negatives.'” Along with the rest of the coaching staff, Finkbeiner sees that the team needs her flexibility and maturity on the court.

It’s not only in her games that she notices her weaknesses or mistakes. “I am way tougher to myself than anyone else could ever be,” Djukic said. “I don’t know why I do that, but I always have.”

Djukic came to the United States in 2011 to play for a junior college in Miami. She left her mother and brother in Serbia after her mom sold the apartment she was living in to pay for her plane ticket and college expenses.

Growing up in a home with a mother who is a former professional basketball player, the game was always a part of Djukic’s life. She started playing at age five and noticed early on she was critical of herself.

She also noticed the criticism that came from others.

“They used to tease me for being so tall and clumsy and for my basketball skills,” Djukic said about the kids with whom she grew up. “Maybe that’s where my negativity comes from.”

Finkbeiner has been working closely with her for the past two years. And in spite of the recent slump, they both agree her performance and mentality have improved dramatically since last season.

Finkbeiner used to take her aside to talk with her until she came out of her self doubt. Now she is learning to do that for herself, but still ascribes her success to his help as her coach.

“I’m happy that I’m not disappointing my coaches,” Djukic said of her overall performance this season.

But more than that, she’s grateful that Finkbeiner has helped her grow as a person.

“I’m not sure if he knows this, but Coach Ben has influenced not only my basketball but also my life,” Djukic said.

She hopes to finish off the season in the same direction she is currently heading, having doubled her statistics in last Saturday’s game against Wyoming from what they were in her two yucky performances before that.

The lessons she’s learning aren’t just applicable to the game.

After graduation this spring, Djukic said, she plans on staying in the United States.

“I could study for another 10 years,” she said. “I know it sounds nerdy, but I love school.”

Finkbeiner is certain his protégé will be successful.

“She is our most intelligent player,” he said. “She has so many great strengths to bring into whatever else she is going to do in life. She’s a different person than she was three years ago in the area of confidence in herself.

— paige.a.cavaness@aggiemail.usu.edu

Twitter: @ususportspaige