Late "surprise" addition to the team, 7'1" C Vuk Lazarevic. He will be basically an ordinary freshman. My guess is he will be groomed to fill Ivan Njegovan's role in the future. Doubtful he will see meaningful PT this upcoming season, but with the new NCAA 5 for 5 rule, there will no longer be any point to sitting out completely.
https://www.dispatch.com/story/spor...vuk-lazarevic-college-basketball/89990739007/
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At 7-1, Serbian import Vuk Lazarevic will bring more size to Ohio State's front line
We caught up with Ohio State men's basketball signee Vuk Lazarevic as he wraps up his time at Wasatch Academy. The 7-1 Lazarevic is a native of Belgrade, Serbia.
The most recent addition to the Ohio State men's basketball roster will be one of the tallest players in program history.
Vuk Lazarevic, a 7-1, 215-pound center from Belgrade, Serbia, became the third freshman in Ohio State's 2026 recruiting class. Ohio State announced he had officially become a team member on May 11.
"I'm looking forward to Vuk joining our Buckeye family," Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said. "His combination of size and skill fit our system, and he adds good depth to our front court. I can't wait to watch him grow and develop in our program."
The 18-year-old Lazarevic joins a pair of Ohio natives in forwards Anthony Thompson and Alex Smith in the 2026 recruiting class. He spent this school year playing in the U.S. at the Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah.
In Serbia, Lazarevic played for one of the top clubs in Europe in Red Star Belgrade. At Wasatch, Lazarevic earned a starting role playing for coach Paul Peterson. Going against top competition in the EYBL Scholastic League, he averaged 8.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 0.5 assists and a team-high 1.2 blocks per game. He shot 67 percent from the floor (60 of 89) and 75 percent at the foul line (15 of 20). He helped Wasatch earn a No. 7 seed in the Chipotle Nationals at the end of the season.
He had 15 points and six rebounds in a win over Tennessee Christian Academy. He had 16 points against Long Island Lutheran. He had nine points and 10 rebounds vs. Iowa United.
He will be one of seven newcomers for coach Jake Diebler and the Ohio State men's program for the 2026-27 season. In addition to the three freshmen, OSU added four transfers in power forward Andrija Jelavic (from Kentucky), combo guard Justin Pippen (from Cal), shooting guard Jimmie Williams (from Duquesne) and point guard Curtis Givens III (from Memphis).
Lazarevic will join the forward/center group that also includes the 6-11 Jelavic, 7-2 center Ivan Njegovan, 6-10 forward/center Josh Ojianwuna and 6-8 forward Amare Bynum.
We were able to catch up with Lazarevic as he finishes up his time at Wasatch Academy and plans to come to Ohio State in June. Here was our interview with Lazarevic.
Q&A WITH VUK LAZAREVIC
Q: What was the level of play when you were in Belgrade playing with the Red Star team? How would you describe it?
Lazarevic: "That was like their 18-U team, so it was a pretty good level of play."
Q: What was your plan coming to America? What was the thought when you decided to do that?
Lazarevic: "Oh, I wanted to choose the American type of basketball. I think that I can play better in American-style basketball. I can improve my physicality more in the United States. And I chose to come to America most because of that."
Q: The year that you were at Wasatch Academy out there just what did that give you to be able to play at that level against the best U.S. high school teams?
Lazarevic: "Wasatch Academy is a great school. I have a great connection with my coach, Paul Peterson. He really believed in me. We practiced really hard at the start of the season and because of that, he gave me the opportunity to play on this level."
Q: How do you feel you got better? How did you improve in the year that you were there?
Lazarevic: "I think my coach mostly prepared me for the American type of basketball because it's more physical. It's like tougher play with bigger guys and everything. And I think that's the biggest area where I wanted to improve when I came here."
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