Getting To Know Goran Suton

Nov. 9, 2004

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Part four of a four-part series getting to know the scholarship freshmen on the men's basketball team.

A 6-foot-10, 250-pound center, Goran Suton is one of four freshmen joining the Spartans for the 2004-05 season. Suton averaged 15.2 points, 12.8 rebounds and 4.4 blocked shots during his senior year at Lansing Everett high school. A native of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Suton played on the Bosnia National team at the age of 14 before moving to Lansing to start high school.

Suton is currently out of action with a knee injury. The interview, however, was conducted before the injury.

Heading into your first season of college basketball, what are the goals you have set for yourself?

"This summer my goals were to have better conditioning and to get stronger. Now it's to go out there, get in the game and play. I want to help out the team as much as I can."

Your older brother is a senior here at MSU. How has he been helping you adjust to college?

"He's teaching me about academics. He doesn't know anything about the athletic part of it, but he's helping me out with school as much as he can. Being an older brother, he's looking out for me."

With the basketball season yet to start, you've had time to focus on school. What has been your favorite class so far?

"It would be Criminal Justice, Introduction to Criminal Justice. I just want to go out there and see what it's like. I don't have a major yet so I'm seeing what it's like, if I like that."

You spent the first 15 years of your life living just outside of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. You also remember the exact date that you came to the U.S. Why does that date stand out so strongly in your memory?

"It was summer, so when I came here it was 90 degrees and humid. It was 20 days right before my birthday and it was in 2000, the new millennium so these are all factors that contribute to why I remember the date."

What was your biggest adjustment of living in a new country?

"Well, I had family here, so I had someone to hang out with everyday, to chill with. Going to a movie or whatever, I had someone to show me around. It was different when school started because I knew the language a little bit, but I couldn't speak it. I could understand it, but not speak it. Once I started going to class it got tougher and tougher. There would be words that I didn't understand. It took me probably half a year to adjust, meet some friends and become Americanized."

Goran Suton arrived in the United States in 2000.

Although you are originally from Bosnia, Lansing has become a second hometown for you. How do you feel about being able to play in front of so many family and friends?

"I've played in Breslin before but it's different when you have 15,000 people in the building instead of 2,000. It's nice to have the support of parents, coaches behind you and friends. It's going to be fun. I'm very excited."

For someone who has never seen you play, who would you compare your style of play to?

"It's something like (Erazem) Lorbek's game and a little like A.J. Granger. Post-wise it's similar to Vlade Divac's game. It's not as good as their games, but I'm working to get there. (laughs)"

Adjusting to life as a college basketball player isn't easy. Have any of your new teammates' tried to help you through it?

"There are a couple of them. The upperclassmen like Kelvin Torbert, Alan, Chris and Paul Davis. Delco is also a pusher, he's really hard on me on the court and that's what I like about him."

If you had to say who you most admire, who would it be and why?

"In a way I look up to my mom and dad because they've been through a lot. I look up to my grandpa too. He's probably my favorite person overall. On the team, I look up to Paul Davis because he's my biggest competition."

If you didn't have basketball and you could imagine the craziest job you would like to have, what would it be?

"I'd be an astronaut or FBI agent. I'd like to go into space and see the earth. That would be pretty cool."

Written by Kelly Thesier, MSU Sports Information