Beavers' Cuic lets it fly.

Byline: Bob Rodman The Register-Guard

CORVALLIS - Know this: There is no shallow end to the Sasa Cuic pool.

At 6-feet-10, 255 pounds, Oregon State's current basketball connection to Croatia is among the 10 best three-point shooters in the Pac-10 Conference. He also is the tallest.

Now 23 years old, Cuic spent a chunk of his childhood caught in the frightening middle of the death and destruction of the 1991-95 Croatian war of independence.

The junior is fluent in five languages - English, Italian, Serbian, Dutch and Croatian - and his major is international business.

Born in Rijeka, Croatia, in 1983, Sasa Cuic (pronounced SAW-sha CHEW-itch) did not get his big hands on a basketball until he was 14 years old.

Two years later, the game had him by the throat. He left home to play basketball in nearby Udine, Italy, and a hoop resume was under way.

"Basketball is my job," said Cuic, averaging 12.5 points and 2.9 rebounds as the Beavers (10-18, 2-13) prepare for Thursday's Pac-10 game at 6 p.m. against Washington (16-10, 6-8) at Gill Coliseum. "It's what I do. It's who I am."

His work sheet includes stops with the Croatian under-17 national team, his country's under-18 national team and club team seasons in Holland, Italy and his homeland of Croatia.

Cuic landed at Oregon State as a 21-year-old freshman in the fall of 2004, a development encouraged by the recommendation of a fellow countryman and former OSU star - Teo Alibegovic (1989-91).

It was a hard landing.

"As a freshman, I struggled," Cuic said. "I had a hard time with the play calling, it was a different shape paint, different rules and the game was so much faster. It affected me a lot."

But did not deter him.

Almost everything improved during his sophomore year, most notable his 49 percent accuracy from the three-point line.

With his basketball on the rise, so, Cuic presumed, was his stock. Talk of turning professional and leaving Oregon State surfaced. It did not happen but caused enough of a stir to prompt the athletic department to issue a statement from Cuic quelling the departure rumors.

He said last week that "I definitely will be back for my senior year."

Earlier this season, Cuic was suspended for two games following the Beavers' 85-41 loss in November at Hawaii, a game in which he scored two points, had two rebounds, two turnovers and four fouls in 18 minutes.

"After the Hawaii game, something had to change," Oregon State coach Jay John said. "Early in the year, by Sasa's own admission, his focus had become challenged when it came to the team-first thing.

"He came into this season saying it now is my turn, my turn to shine. I will be the go-to guy."

In January, Cuic again found himself on the sour side of his coach. This time the issues were a lack of rebounding and defense, made worse by a team that has struggled and clinched the program's 15th losing record in the last 17 seasons.

After zero rebounds in a loss at Washington, Cuic again lost his starting job and was relegated to reserve duty for OSU's losses at USC (73-56) and UCLA, a 47-point crushing (82-35).

"It really doesn't matter who starts," Cuic said. "It's who finishes. But I wasn't there for the finish, either. That was a bigger problem for me. I'm not happy about that."

Cuic went back to work and the next week scored a career-high 25 points in a six-point loss to then-No. 24 Arizona and threw in a game-high 22 points in the Beavers' win over ASU.

"When Sasa makes shots, it's good for us," John said. "He is a shotmaker. The best thing Sasa does is score."

More than one-third of Cuic's 108 field goals this season are three-pointers. He led the Pac-10 in three-point field-goal percentage (.493) last season. He currently has a team-high 40 and a career total of 103, the latter ranking ninth on the OSU all-time list.

"No coach has ever told me not to shoot the three," Cuic said. "No coach has ever told me to just go inside. I am a good shooter."

John agreed. "It is unusual for a guy 6-10 to be a three-pointer shooter, but Sasa is a fantastic shooter," he said. "Scorers like to go to spots where they are open and can make the shot. (The three-point line) is where Sasa has made his whole career."

John, however, demands more.

"Your sole identity can't be as a scorer," John said, "because if you're not scoring, then what are you doing on the floor?"

Cuic is averaging less than three rebounds a game this season. He has three games with no rebounds, four with one and six with two - 13 games with a total of 13 rebounds.

"I'm the kind of player who boxes out," Cuic said. "As long as we get the rebound and my man doesn't, I'm fine with that."

John is not.

"Every player has a hunger for the ball," John said. "You've got to believe in going after every rebound because the ball is not just going to land in your hands."

As for defense, John said, "There is value in keeping the other guy from scoring."

Inconsistency has stalked Cuic all season, the latest downturn a scoreless, four-foul, 0-for-10 from the field, one-rebound, 18-minute night in last week's loss at Stanford and a Bay Area weekend line of 3-of-17 from the floor, three rebounds and eight points in 36 minutes.

Despite challenges that exist between player and coach, John said that since the two-game suspension "things have been fine between Sasa and I."

Cuic said the media "has blown some things out of proportion because of who I am, the way I voice things and my being a foreigner.

"Journalists and reporters want to make a bigger story out of it than it was," Cuic said. "Me and coach John have a professional relationship. We strive for the same goal.

"I have his back. I hope he has mine."

OREGON STATE VS. WASHINGTON

6 p.m. Thursday at Gill Coliseum, Corvallis. TV: FSN. Radio: KKNX-AM (840), KNND-AM (1400), KCST-AM (1250).

THE SASA CUIC FILE

The 6-foot-10 junior, a long-range shooter from Croatia, has had a star-crossed three seasons at Oregon State.

Year G/GS Min. FG/Pct. 3FG/Pct. FT/Pct. Reb/Avg. Pts/Avg.

2004-05 32-15 20.9 91-231/.394 27-83/.325 86-108/.796 125/3.9 295/9.2

2005-06 30-16 26.2 126-257/.490 36-73/.493 118-167/.707 135/4.5 406/13.5

2006-07 25-21 26.7 108-267/.404 40-100/.400 57-88/.648 72/2.9 313/12.5