Candace Buckner

candace.buckner@indystar.com

Preseason%3A Mavericks at Pacers%2C 7 p.m. Saturday%2C FSI

Before he officially became an Indiana Pacer, Damjan Rudež had such intimate knowledge of how the team likes to run pick-and-rolls that it surprised coach Frank Vogel. Then, in preparation for his first big moment on the court, Rudež shamelessly practiced singing lyrics to himself in the locker room bathroom mirror loud enough for his teammates to hear. He may be a rookie, but Rudež wants to stay prepared for everything coming in his first year in the NBA.

"He doesn't act like a rook," point guard George Hill said. "He's an older rookie that's been well experienced and playing tough competition already. As far as the way he plays, the way he carries himself on and off the court, the way he goes about things on and off the court, his maturity level is very high."

Rudež, at 28, has studied and practiced through his first weeks in Indiana as if he's expecting a pop quiz at any moment. Whether it was a summer workout or even the pop solo performance every Pacer rookie must endure, Rudež has approached each task with the intensity of an eager apprentice. So, upon learning Friday that he has made only 2-of-14 shots from behind the 3-point line this preseason, Rudež stayed in character.

"I'm going out there to shoot right now," said Rudež, whose name is pronounced as Ru-desch. "That's how I got here, just shooting the ball and shooting like crazy. When the shots don't go in, you go and you practice shots. Eventually, they'll start falling."

The Pacers signed the 6-10 Rudež for one thing – the man can shoot.

Growing up in Croatia, Rudež idolized countrymen like Dražen Petrović, Dino Radja and Toni Kukoc, who helped usher in the European wave to the NBA in the 1990s. Rudež figured out the best way to follow in their footsteps would be to transform his game, so the 6-10 power forward developed his jump shot.

Last year, Rudež played for a top Spanish league team, Cai Zaragoza, and made 43 percent of his 3-point attempts and became "one of the best shooters in Europe" – a title that makes him laugh, almost giggle, with nervousness. However, President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird said those words after Rudež signed a three-year deal with the Pacers, so they hold substance. So far, however, Rudež is still trying to carry their weight.

On Wednesday, Rudež missed his six shot attempts – all jumpers – including a potential go-ahead bucket in the final seconds. Rudež was open and ready behind the corner arc, but Chris Copeland's flung an off-target pass his way that forced Rudež away from his favorite spot in the gym. By the time Rudež caught the ball, the defender had a chance to close out and disrupt Rudež's decision. Eventually, Rudež shot with about seven seconds on the shot clock and missed off the front rim. Through four preseason games, Rudež has struggled finding his shot, making only 14.8 percent from the field.

"I'm not going to stop shooting the ball, that's for sure, that's my main characteristic," Rudež said. "It's something I have to work on everyday and keep being confident with it. Considering the label of one of the best shooters in Europe, a lot of great shooters from Europe came here and struggled (their) first year. We've seen it happened so much of the time."

Like any first-year European player, Rudež has to adjust to the longer distances on an NBA court (23 feet, 9 inches and 22 feet,1 inch in the corner).

"There's really no secret to it, it's just an adjustment to the newer line," he said. "It's farther than what I'm used to shooting my whole life, so nothing much to do but just get shots up, shoot in practice and get adjusted to it."

On his first made 3-pointer of the preseason, Rudež had crept so close to his corner 3-point spot that the first official who signaled the shot was good also notified the Pacers' scorer table for a later replay to confirm if he was behind the line. Since that Oct. 10 game, Rudež has moved further behind the line – all three 3-point attempts against the Cavaliers were clearly long-distance shots, including a corner 3 that he air balled in the second quarter.

"I just think it's part of the process, it's still really early on," Vogel said about Rudež's low preseason shooting percentage. "You come in, you're playing in a different league with a different speed and a deeper line than he's used to. He's a great shooter. I have no concerns about how that's going to translate once we get going."

Vogel isn't the only one inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse who believes that Rudež will eventually adapt. The Pacers have noted Rudež for his high basketball I.Q. He showed just how much he had studied the team during a summer workout. When Vogel instructed to run the pick-and-roll and read the defense – shoot if the opponent goes under the screen or turn the corner and take the lane if he comes over it – Rudež listened intently then repeated a Vogel-ism from early in the 2013-14 season.

"But no splits, right? (Don't) split the pick-and-roll because I read that you don't like it when Paul George splits the pick-and-roll,'" Rudež told Vogel.

"He's a very, very smart basketball player," Copeland said of Rudež.

And Rudež is smart enough not to make a fool out of himself. Veterans Hill, Roy Hibbert and Paul George selected "Fancy" for Rudež to perform at the team's Fan Jam, even though he hadn't heard of the song. But by showtime, he had memorized the lyrics, transformed himself into an Eastern European Iggy Azalea and won the night. Of course, those bathroom mirror sessions helped.

"I was using the bathroom when he was practicing that," Hill said. "I didn't know who was singing that song, I just knew it was a foreigner."

If Rudež cared enough to put so much time into his "Fancy" performance, then it made sense that he was one of the last Pacers to remain on the court Friday, working on his 3-point shooting. He winced at the bricks and scowled like the baddest man in all of Bankers Life Fieldhouse at the makes. Most of all, Rudež simply practiced his craft.

"I'm not preoccupied (with stats), whether it's 2-for-14 or whatever it is," Rudež said. "Of course, it would be nicer if it was 7-for-14. I'm not happy about it but I just have to be patient with myself and be aware that it's a process, stay confident, keep shooting the ball. I'm not going to make more shots if I stop shooting the ball. Nothing left for me to do but watch the form, keep getting the shots up and that's it."

Follow Star reporter Candace Buckner on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.