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Ohio State men’s basketball player preview: Ivan Njegovan
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Njegovan was the last player to be added to the roster this offseason to help add depth to the center rotation.
Even though it is September and fans are locked into college football, the fall also means that college basketball is right around the corner.
From now until the start of the hoops season in early November, we will be doing player previews and team previews for all the players on the men’s basketball team and the new-look Big Ten Conference.
Name: Ivan Njegovan
Position: Center
Class: Freshman
Previous School: Gimnazija Vladimira-Nazora
Hometown: Otocac, Croatia
Weight: 250 lbs
Height: 7-foot-1
With the loss of Felix Okpara and Zed Key, the Buckeyes had to bring in another center to fill out the rotation of Aaron Bradshaw and Austin Parks.
Njegovan is a long, young center who stands at 7-foot-1. Before coming to Columbus this season, he played for Zadar and Bosco of the Croatian Premier League last year, averaging 7.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 56 percent from the floor.
The tall center has also played national basketball as a member of the Croatian U20 National Team that competed in the 2024 European Championship. According to Ohio State Athletics, he averaged 6.1 points and 6.6 rebounds over seven games. He finished the tournament against Bulgaria with 15 points, 16 rebounds, and three blocked shots.
He also played for his hometown team, Zadar, in the ABA League and the ABA Junior League for parts of the last three seasons.
Njegovan is an elite shot blocker and a talented offensive player who has raw potential that the coaching staff at Ohio State will have four years to work with
To be honest, his role on this team is unknown. It really comes down to 1) How well Aaron Bradshaw can stay out of foul trouble and stay on the court and 2) What the staff thinks of Austin Parks.
Bradshaw is an immense talent who was a top-five recruit coming out of high school and played one year for Kentucky. If the former Wildcat is able to stay on the floor and out of foul trouble, which was an issue at Kentucky, he will be on the court a lot and Parks or Njegovan will play a little off the bench to fill out the rotation.
If Bradshaw struggles with foul trouble and only plays 20 minutes a game or less, then they may need Njegovan and Parks to play to help fill out the rotation.
Otherwise, if the staff deems Njegovan is more ready than Parks, then he will be the backup. This is unlikely since he is coming in late as a freshman and Parks has been in the system for two years.
Continue reading...
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Njegovan was the last player to be added to the roster this offseason to help add depth to the center rotation.
Even though it is September and fans are locked into college football, the fall also means that college basketball is right around the corner.
From now until the start of the hoops season in early November, we will be doing player previews and team previews for all the players on the men’s basketball team and the new-look Big Ten Conference.
The Ivan Njegovan File
Name: Ivan Njegovan
Position: Center
Class: Freshman
Previous School: Gimnazija Vladimira-Nazora
Hometown: Otocac, Croatia
Weight: 250 lbs
Height: 7-foot-1
Breakdown
With the loss of Felix Okpara and Zed Key, the Buckeyes had to bring in another center to fill out the rotation of Aaron Bradshaw and Austin Parks.
Njegovan is a long, young center who stands at 7-foot-1. Before coming to Columbus this season, he played for Zadar and Bosco of the Croatian Premier League last year, averaging 7.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 56 percent from the floor.
The tall center has also played national basketball as a member of the Croatian U20 National Team that competed in the 2024 European Championship. According to Ohio State Athletics, he averaged 6.1 points and 6.6 rebounds over seven games. He finished the tournament against Bulgaria with 15 points, 16 rebounds, and three blocked shots.
He also played for his hometown team, Zadar, in the ABA League and the ABA Junior League for parts of the last three seasons.
Njegovan is an elite shot blocker and a talented offensive player who has raw potential that the coaching staff at Ohio State will have four years to work with
Expected Role
To be honest, his role on this team is unknown. It really comes down to 1) How well Aaron Bradshaw can stay out of foul trouble and stay on the court and 2) What the staff thinks of Austin Parks.
Bradshaw is an immense talent who was a top-five recruit coming out of high school and played one year for Kentucky. If the former Wildcat is able to stay on the floor and out of foul trouble, which was an issue at Kentucky, he will be on the court a lot and Parks or Njegovan will play a little off the bench to fill out the rotation.
If Bradshaw struggles with foul trouble and only plays 20 minutes a game or less, then they may need Njegovan and Parks to play to help fill out the rotation.
Otherwise, if the staff deems Njegovan is more ready than Parks, then he will be the backup. This is unlikely since he is coming in late as a freshman and Parks has been in the system for two years.
Continue reading...