By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina is making progress on being able to get Montenegrin wing Luca Bogavac on the court in games, but still isn’t there, although the NCAA has cleared him.
“From an NCAA standpoint, yes,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said when asked Wednesday if there was an update on Bogavac. “Institutionally-wise, we’re working on it and we’re making progress.”
At a Smith Center press conference, Davis said that it was possible that Bogavac would play in Friday’s 9 p.m. exhibition game in Salt Lake City against BYU. There is no clear indication as to the timetable, though.
The NCAA had to reinstate Bogavac since he previously played professional basketball, which it did. There are institutional issues that still have to be worked out.
The 6–6, 215-pound Bogavac, who turned 22 last month, was one of the best players in the ABA (Adriatic Basketball Association), averaging 14.9 points per game while making 39.9% of his field-goal attempts and 40% of his 3-point attempts.
Bogavac scored 14 points in the Blue-White scrimmage at the Smith Center on Oct. 4, but only had five points in last Saturday’s scrimmage in Cherokee before leaving with what appeared to be a minor ankle tweak.
A professional since September 2021, Bogavac debuted in the ABA League with Mega Basket, competing against players well beyond college age. His season-high came with 27 points and five three-pointers — one of eight times in his final 15 games when he scored at least 19.
Bogavac is one of 10 newcomers for next season, including freshmen Caleb Wilson, Isaiah Denis and Derek Dixon, sophomore transfers Jonathan Powell and Ivan Matlekovic, and junior transfers Jaydon Young, Henri Veesaar, Kyan Evans and Jarin Stevenson.
Bogavac is the third foreign-born player on the roster, in addition to Estonian native Veesaar and Croatian Ivan Matlekovic.
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Freshman | Caleb Wilson (5 star) | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| 5 | Freshman | Isaiah Denis (4 star) | CG | 6–4 | 180 |
| 3 | Freshman | Derek Dixon (4 star) | CG | 6–5 | 200 |
| 40 | Sophomore | Ivan Matlekovic | 5 | 7–0 | 255 |
| 11 | Sophomore | Jonathan Powell | G | 6–6 | 190 |
| 2 | Sophomore | James Brown | 5 | 6–10 | 240 |
| 1 | Sophomore | Zayden High | 4 | 6–10 | 230 |
| 44 | Junior | Luca Bogavac (BO-guh-VAHTS) | W | 6–6 | 215 |
| 4 | Junior | Jaydon Young | 2 | 6–4 | 200 |
| 13 | RS junior | Henri Veesaar (VEH-sar) | 5 | 7–0 | 225 |
| 0 | Junior | Kyan Evans | 1 | 6–2 | 175 |
| 15 | Junior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| 7 | Senior | Seth Trimble | 2 | 6–3 | 200 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Sophomore | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Junior | Evan Smith | 2 | 6–1 | 195 |
| 6 | RS senior | Elijah Davis | 2 | 6–3 | 205 |
Former UNC players who transferred
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elliot Cadeau | Junior | PG | 6–1 | 180 | Michigan |
| Jalen Washington | Senior | C | 6–10 | 235 | Vanderbilt |
| Ian Jackson | Sophomore | G | 6–4 | 190 | St. John’s |
| Cade Tyson | Senior | F | 6–7 | 200 | Minnesota |
| Ven-Allen Lubin | Senior | C | 6–8 | 230 | N.C. State |
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 16 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 11 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 10 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 18 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 24 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 20 Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo via Joshua Lawton
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