International Bio Blast: Andrija Jelavic
Mark Pope has landed his first international recruit. Croatian native Andrija Jelavic committed to the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday, a surprise announcement for the Big Blue Nation that was quickly followed by Brandon Garrison‘s decision to return for a junior season.
Clocking in at 6-foot-11, 225 pounds, Jelavic will come to the United States as a 21-year-old freshman. He’ll turn 21 in May with two years of professional experience at the international level already under his belt. Jelavic has been with Serbian-based KK Mega Basket for the last two seasons, the same team that helped develop three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic for multiple years before he moved overseas to the Denver Nuggets.
Across his two seasons with KK Mega Basket, Jelavic has posted per-game averages of 10.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.2 steals in 29.7 minutes, according to Basketball-Reference. A stretch forward, he shot 48.5 percent from the field, 30.2 percent from deep (3.2 attempts per game), and 68.5 percent from the free throw line.
“[His greatest strengths] are his size, finishing, handling, and rebounding,” Arman Jovic, a scout with PDT Scouting, told KSR+. “He can do a lot in the offense. He can play into that Andrew Carr role as a multi-positional stretch big.”
On paper, Jelavic is an ideal fit for Pope’s system at UK and can be paired next to different kinds of centers. Let’s learn more about the European big man who has hopes of making a leap to the NBA in the next year or two.
Establishing himself as a top international prospect
Jelavic began playing professional basketball at the age of 16 (2020-21) for KK Cedevita Olimpija Junior in Belgrade, Serbia. He appeared in four games while dominating the competition with 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per outing. Jelavic again suited up for KK Cedevita Olimpija Junior in 2021-22, along with KK Mega Leks U18, for a total of 12 games. He averaged 10.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per contest.
As an 18-year-old in 2022-23, Jelavic saw action in 40 games between KK Mega Leks U18 and OKK Beograd. There, he averaged 13.6 points and 9.3 rebounds in 31 minutes per game. Jelavic then made the jump to the big leagues in 2023-24 at 19 years old, officially signing with KK Mega Basket in June 2023. He made an immediate impact and has continued to do so ever since.
Jelavic also has FIBA experience playing for his home country of Croatia. At 16, he averaged 14.4 points and 7.4 rebounds in the 2021 U18 Euro Challengers across five games. A year later as a 17-year-old in the 2022 U18 Euro Championship A, he averaged 11.3 points and 11 rebounds per game across seven contests.
His 2024-25 season with KK Mega Basket is still ongoing. Jelavic has four more regular season games remaining, including one on Tuesday, before the playoffs begin in May (something to keep in mind in relation to his arrival in Lexington). He was considering entering his name in the 2025 NBA Draft but elected for the college route instead. This a prospect with a ton of playing experience.
Scouting Report: Andrija Jelavic
Jelavic is a highly skilled stretch forward who has done consistent damage with KK Mega Basket in the Adriatic League — a respectable international league considered among the best in the world. He has a full range of offensive skills. Jelavic can bring the ball up the floor, take defenders off the dribble, score from post-ups or beyond the arc, and initiate the offense through his playmaking. He’s quick for someone his size and can handle the ball like a guard. His 7-foot-2 wingspan allows him to pass and shoot over defenders.
This season, Jelavic is shooting 32.3 percent from deep on 2.8 attempts per outing. He also shoots just a hair over 60 percent from two. So far, he has six double-doubles across 23 games. His best outing was a 23-point, 14-rebound performance on 6-6 shooting earlier this season. Jelavic has six games with at least two made three-pointers.
He’ll also bring some juice to the defensive end of the floor. Thanks to his length and quick feet, he’s a threatening shot blocker and does well at playing passing lanes. His overall basketball IQ should fit snuggly into Pope’s game plan. How his physicality carries over into the Southeastern Conference — both offensively and defensive — will be the biggest question mark.
The post International Bio Blast: Andrija Jelavic appeared first on On3.
