The North Carolina Tar Heels have been one of the most interesting teams to keep tabs on this season, as the roster is constructed around seven newcomers. Four of those players were brought in through the transfer portal this past offseason.
One of those additions was overseas guard Luka Bogavac, who joined the program late in the process, as he was not part of the team during the preseason. The 6-foot-5, 216-pound guard is averaging 12.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.0 assists, while shooting 39.1 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from three-point range. It has not been an efficient experience through the first nine games, but head coach Hubert Davis understands that it could take some time for Bogavac to find his footing.
Davis’ Thoughts
“I think that’s huge,” Davis said. “I mean, it’s only nine games in. I don’t know who I talked to before, but in the preseason, we didn’t have Luka [Bogavac]. Then we had a full team for two games, and then we haven’t had Seth [Trimble] for six games.”
“So, it’s trying to figure out rotations,” Davis continued. “And then when Seth comes back, it’s finding it again. Different combinations is one of the things that I was excited about coming into the season. That is the versatility that we have, that we can throw out a number of different rotations out there that can be really effective on the floor.”
The veteran guard, who is playing his first season in collegiate basketball, explained the learning curves and development he is going through in the first nine games.
Bogavac’s Thoughts
“I try every single game to get more and more comfortable, to try to find my rhythm with this team,” Bogavac said. “The pick-and-roll game is one of the things that I feel most comfortable [with].”
“Our goal is just to learn from every single game to be more efficient [on] both ends of the floor, and so this is what we try to do every single night,” Bogavac said. That could speak to some of Bogavac’s struggles from the field, but the former pro-overseas player has been thrust into the starting lineup, which may not be the best foc may be best suited coming off the bench as a role player with limited minutes. Trimble’s return should do just that, but it is going to be at least a few weeks until that transpires.
