In the early 1990s, the Yugoslav Wars were raging on, part of the widespread fall of communism. Millions of people were living in the turmoil, pinning them against others whom they had no problem with, simply because of their homeland.
Two of these young people happened to be future Northwestern Wildcats.
Serbian junior forward Nikola Cerina and Croatian assistant coach Ivan Vujic were on opposite sides of the spectrum when the Croatian War of Independence began in 1991. Serbia stayed loyal to Yugoslavia, but Croatia declared its secession. At this time, Vujic was a high school freshman, while Cerina was just a toddler. Theoretically, they were supposed to be enemies, as military forces of the two nations were battling in the streets of Vujic’s homeland. But anger was not the prevailing emotion for civilians during this bloody conflict.
It was fear.
The war zone
Though the struggle clearly impacted Cerina's family, his parents worked hard to shelter him from the fighting. But it was difficult to do that when his family was constantly subject to suspicion.
“My dad is Croatian and my mom is Serbian,” Cerina says. “My last name is Croatian, and if I’m in Serbia, Serbians can tell the difference. People would come into my house for no reason, besides [the fact that] I’m Croatian.”
Although his family received hostile treatment from fellow Serbians, Cerina says that he never felt in danger, because he grew up near the middle of the country.
The same cannot be said for Vujic. He lived in Split, a city on the Adriatic Sea and the location of many attacks. He remembers vividly the citywide warning that could come at any unexpected time.
“You’re in school or at home and when you hear the horn, you go in the first basement you can find, building or not, then sometimes you stay for four or five days,” Vujic recalls.
These warnings were not precautionary; they came when there was imminent danger for the citizens if they did not act quickly.
“One time, I was on a balcony and I saw two planes, one behind the other, flying low, and then they went up. And after two minutes, I heard the horn and had to go in the basement," Vujic remembers. "Another time, I saw a warship cruising in and all of a sudden [it] started shooting on houses. It was a war zone.”
It’s almost euphemistic to describe the situation in two words. In this war, over 4,500 Croatian civilians were killed or went missing, and Vujic feels blessed to have been spared.
“In my close family, a couple of uncles and cousins got shot, but nobody got killed in my family,” he says. “A lot of other parents and families and their kids, they got shot or they got killed. I got lucky to get out of there alive, together with my parents.”
Finding success on the court
When the war concluded in 1995, it ended four years of indescribable bloodshed, civilian casualties and constant fear. What it did not end was the intense tension between Serbians and Croatians. Because of it, Cerina did not go to visit his family in Croatia for another five years after the war’s end.
Despite the turmoil, both found success in basketball. Vujic, who played for Croatia’s U-18 National team in the 1995 World Championships, came to the United States in 1996 to play college basketball; his first two years were at Vincennes University (IN), and his last two were at Valparaiso University.
He then played for a Puerto Rican pro team for a short time before signing with a Belgian squad. Despite his success, he never forgot his roots, and he continued to give back.
“I was a pretty good player, so I had a chance to sign after college with a professional team and make some money,” Vujic says. “I was helping my family, because I come from a poor family. A lot of these guys back home look at basketball as kind of a way to make a better living.”
Unfortunately, knee injuries derailed his career, but they also jumpstarted his coaching career, which began in Croatia. He moved back to the States, and after several stints at midwest schools, he landed with the Wildcats in 2008.
Cerina also came to the U.S. with aspirations of college success, beginning his career at TCU in 2009. After two seasons, he decided that the fit was not right, and in part because of Coach Vujic’s recruitment of him, he chose to come to Northwestern.
Coming together
With these two men coming from opposite sides of a brutal war, it would only seem normal for them to have ill feelings toward each other, but Cerina finds no reason to hold grudges.
“I’m Yugoslavian,” he says. “I wouldn’t take any sides.”
Cerina does not try to forget the past. Instead, he has reconciled with it and become stronger as a result. He does not see enemy and ally; he sees fellow man.
Vujic feels the same way about Cerina. “I don’t see him as a Croatian or Serbian. I see him as a good human being," he says.
Even with all of the painful experiences of their past, both have decided that there’s nothing they can do but continue to live their lives. But no matter where Vujic goes, he will always remember the experiences that shaped his childhood.
“It definitely made me tougher, and it made me appreciate more what I have right now. It made me appreciate what opportunity is in front of me,” he says. “Unfortunately, those things happen, and you just move forward.”
The people of what was formerly Yugoslavia have finally started to do that, and relations are definitely much improved between the nations – so much so that Cerina’s parents now live in Croatia. The 6-foot-9 forward even says that he would love an opportunity to play for KK Partizan, a Serbian club and his favorite team as a child.
And even if he was not old enough to comprehend the war as it happened, Cerina recognizes the pain that is imprinted on the hearts of millions of Serbians and Croatians.
“It was hostile territory, but it’s improving," Cerina says. "Although people will never forget, things will get better.”