Ratko Varda

Ratko Varda

Varda with Mega Vizura against MZT in Skopje.
Hekmeh
Position Center
League FLB League
Personal information
Born (1979-05-06) May 6, 1979
Gradiška, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality Serbian / Bosnian
Listed height 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in)
Listed weight 112 kg (247 lb)
Career information
NBA draft 2001 / Undrafted
Playing career 1995–present
Career history
1995–2001 Partizan Belgrade
2001–2002 Detroit Pistons
2003 Union Olimpija
2003–2004 Apollon Patras
2004–2005 Beşiktaş
2005–2006 Kyiv
2006–2007 Real Madrid
2007–2008 ViveMenorca
2008 Žalgiris
2009 Khimki
2009–2011 Asseco Prokom Gdynia
2011 Union Olimpija
2011–2012 Azovmash
2012 Mahram Tehran
2012–2013 Radnički Kragujevac
2013–2014 Mega Vizura
2015 United Byblos Amchit
2015 Kožuv
2016 Sutjeska
2016–present Hekmeh
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Yugoslavia
'22 & under' European Championship
1998 Italy Team
European Championship for Juniors
1996 France Team

Ratko Varda (Serbian Cyrillic: Ратко Варда; born May 6, 1979) is a Serbian professional basketball player for Hekmeh of the FLB League. Standing at 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in), he plays the center position.

Professional career

Varda came up through Partizan's youth system and made his debut during the 1995–96 season, before making himself eligible for the 2001 NBA Draft.[1] He ended up not getting selected but still found himself on the Detroit Pistons roster to the start of the 2001–02 season. Varda ended up spending two seasons in the NBA on the rosters of the Pistons and the Washington Wizards, but during that time he was only featured in a single official game (he played six minutes and scored five points for Detroit).

In 2003, he returned to Europe and signed for Union Olimpija until the end of the 2002–03 season.[2] Over the summer of 2004, he played with Beşiktaş of the Turkish Basketball League, but he left the club during the final series against Efes Pilsen.

In the 2006–07 season, he played in the Spanish Liga ACB with Real Madrid, but he could not finish the season due to an anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.[3]

On October 29, 2007, he signed for the entire season of the Spanish championship with ViveMenorca, having recovered from his knee injury.[4]

On August 21, 2008, he signed a two-year contract with the Lithuanian champions BC Žalgiris from Kaunas.[5] Because of the financial problems of the club, he left Žalgiris in late November.[6] The details of his financial arrangements at the bankrupt club became publicly known when he wrote an open letter to the public discussing the issue.[7]

On January 26, 2009, he signed with the Russian club BC Khimki.[8] On the last day of 2009, Varda signed a one-month contract with Asseco Prokom Gdynia of Poland.[9] In 2010, Varda extend his contract with Prokom until the end of the 2010–11 season.[10]

In August 2011, he returned to his former club Union Olimpija, signing a one-year contract.[11] However, he left the team in December because of the club's financial difficulties and signed with BC Azovmash from Mariupol.[12] He left the team in March by mutual agreement.[13]

On September 29, 2012, he signed a one-month deal with Iranian club Mahram Tehran.[14][15]

On November 5, 2012, he signed with Radnički Kragujevac.[16] In January 2013, he got injured and missed the rest of the season.[17]

On July 31, 2013, he signed a one-year deal with Mega Vizura.[18][19]

In 2012 and 2013, he captained the Republika Srpska team in friendlies against Serbia.[20][21]

On February 2, 2015 he signed with United Byblos Amchit of the Lebanese Basketball League.[22]

On October 1, 2015, Varda signed with KK Kožuv of the Macedonian First League.[23] On November 4, 2015, he parted ways with Kožuv after appearing in four league games and two BIBL games.[24] On December 30, 2015, he signed with the Montenegrin club Sutjeska for the rest of the season.[25] On February 3, 2016, he left Sutjeska and signed with Hekmeh of the Lebanese Basketball League for the rest of the 2016 season.[26] On November 7, 2016, he re-signed with Hekmeh.[27]

Personal life

A Serb,[28] Varda was born in Gradiška, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina). His family moved to Serbia during the Bosnian War. He has a tattoo of Saint George and the Dragon.

References

  1. ↑ NBA Draft 2001
  2. ↑ Ratko Varda u ljubljanskoj Olimpiji (in Serbian), b92, January 24, 2003.
  3. ↑ Ratko Varda se pierde lo que resta de temporada (in Spanish), acb, January 10, 2007.
  4. ↑ Ratko Varda refuerza el ViveMenorca hasta final de temporada (in Spanish), acb, October 29, 2007.
  5. ↑ "Zalgiris brings in Ratko Varda". talkbasket.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "Zalgiris, center Ratko Varda part ways". euroleague.net. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  7. ↑ Ratko Varda's open letter to Zalgiris thehoop, November 24, 2008.
  8. ↑ Khimki adds center Ratko Varda eurocup, January 26, 2009.
  9. ↑ Prokom signs Ratko Varda for one month euroleague, December 31, 2009.
  10. ↑ ASSECO PROKOM keeps Ratko Varda euroleague, September 10, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Union Olimpija reunites with Varda". euroleague.net. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  12. ↑ Ratko Varda leaves Union Olimpija and signs with Azovmash Mariupol
  13. ↑ Ratko Varda and Azovmash Mariupol part ways
  14. ↑ "Ratko Varda mesec dana u Iranu" (in Serbian). b92.net. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "Ratko Varda signs with Mahram". court-side.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  16. ↑ "Radnički signed Ratko Varda". abaliga.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  17. ↑ "Radnicki lost Ratko Varda for three months". sportando.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "Mega Vizura signs Ratko Varda". Sportando.net. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  19. ↑ "Varda pojačao Mega Vizuru" (in Serbian). B92.net. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  20. ↑ "Ratko Varda predvodi reprezentaciju Republike Srpske" (in Serbian).
  21. ↑ "Srpska bi se plasirala na Evro u Sloveniji" (in Serbian).
  22. ↑ "United Byblos Amchit signs Ratko Varda". eurobasket.com. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  23. ↑ "Ratko Varda (ex UBA) is a newcomer at Kozuv". eurobasket.com. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  24. ↑ "Кожув ја раскина соработката со Ратко Варда" (in Macedonian). ekipa.mk. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  25. ↑ "Ratko Varda signs with KK Sutjeska". sportando.com. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  26. ↑ "Ratko Varda signs with Sagesse". Sportando.com. February 3, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Ratko Varda inks with Sagesse Club". Sportando.com. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  28. ↑ "Ratko Varda: Ne delim ljude na Srbe i Hrvate" (in Serbian).
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