On Tuesday night via Twitter we learned that 7’0” Sergej Vucetic was slated to visit Ed Cooley and Providence on Monday. Judging from some of the Twitter response, like many I was intrigued by a seven-foot prospect but wholly unfamiliar with this player out of AIM Prep in Michigan by way of Serbia.
Given Vucetic’s Serbian roots I reached out to Rafal Juc of Eurohopes.com in the hope of learning more about him because no one has the European hoops scene covered better than Rafal. Please do yourself a favor and follow him on Twitter (@rafjuc) and check him out at Eurohopes.com. Rafal was gracious enough not only to provide me with some personal insight but also reached out to a contact in Serbia who has seen a lot of Vucetic in the last year and passed along what he had to say.
As far as college interest Vucetic holds offers from the Friars, URI, Minnesota Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, UNC Charlotte, Nevada and Illinois.
Vucetic has enjoyed great success over the past year. The biggest eye popper is that he has drawn comparisons to Pau Gasol because of the perimeter skills and agility he possesses for a player of his size. Vucetic is estimated to stand approximately 7’2” in sneakers and is described as a “really good rebounder” due to his length and body control.. He can also score inside but needs to work on the technical aspects of post play, such as his footwork, and needs to get stronger. As you will see in the videos included with this post, Vucetic definitely needs work on his body and Rafal believes his offensive game needs significant improvement if he is to be a difference maker at the Big East level. Rafal suggested a red shirt year would do Vucetic well if he goes the high major route, but even with that he is not sure if Vucetic projects to an impact Big East starter.
Vucetic recently played in the Northwest Indiana All-Star Classic and I found some video (below). It is over 30 minutes long but Vucetic flashes some of his abilities right away so check it out for a few minutes. Also appearing in the game is another person of Friar interest, shooting guard Mislav Brzoja.
This is a shorter video of Sergej Vucetic training session.
