A big Serb has been dominating the NBA lately. Now OSU has a big Serb.
According to Jon Chepkevich of Draft Express on Sunday, Oklahoma State has signed 6-foot-4 Andrija Vukovic. Vukovic comes to the Cowboys as a freshman after most recently playing in Serbia for KK Vrsac (a professional league in Serbia), where he averaged 6.1 points and 2.5 rebounds in 13 minutes per game while making 66% of his free throws.
Vukovic played for an U19 team in the Junior ABA League during the 2022–23 season, where he averaged 17 points, 7.5 rebounds and three assists per game while shooting 65% from the field and playing against players his own age group.
Despite being a center, Vukovic has also shown at times that he is a good 3-point shooter. During a game with KK Vrsac last season, he scored 24 points, which was a season high, in a game where he made 3 of 3 three-pointers. That was three of only six 3-point attempts he made in the 22 games with Vrsac, but he made 67% of those shots. He shot 57% from the free throw line, according to Eurobasket.
Wisconsin announced in June that it had signed Vukovic, but somehow he ended up in Stillwater instead.
This is a big win for the Pokes in many ways. First of all, Vukovic appears to be a solid player, but more importantly, he gives the Cowboys some much-needed size. Before Vukovic’s signing, the Cowboys had one player taller than 6’10: Xavier transfer Abou Ousmane, who is listed at 6’10. Vukovic fills the Cowboys’ last remaining open scholarship spot and is the 10th (!!!) new player that new coach Steve Lutz has signed since taking office.
Serbia’s presence on the basketball landscape has grown significantly in recent years, led by Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic. Jokic led the Serbs to a bronze medal at this summer’s Olympics. The Oklahoma City Thunder are also active in Serbian action, having selected Nikola Topic 12th overall in this summer’s NBA Draft. The Thunder also drafted Aleksej Pokusevski in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft, but Poku was traded away from the franchise last season.
