CHARLOTTE — UNC basketball doesn’t open the regular season for another month, but the Tar Heels are waiting for Luka Bogavac to be cleared by the NCAA. Are UNC coach Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels worried about Bogavac’s situation?
“We feel good about the process of everyone,” Davis said at Hilton Uptown Charlotte on Tuesday, Oct. 7, during ACC Tipoff, the conference’s annual basketball media days ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Senior guard Seth Trimble said he knows “nothing about this process,” but he’s confident Bogavac will be on the court when the Tar Heels open their season in November.
“I trust everybody in our basketball program to do what they need to do to get him on the court,” Trimble said. “Put it in God’s hands, that’s all I can do.”
Listed as a junior on the Tar Heels’ 2025-26 roster, the 22-year-old Bogavac committed to UNC on May 31 after spending several professional seasons in the ABA League with SC Derby. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound wing from Montenegro arrived in Chapel Hill on Aug. 13 and enrolled in classes at UNC.
“For us, we don’t do much about it,” UNC center Henri Veesaar said about Bogavac’s process.
“We’re players, we expect him to be there, ‘cause he’s a great player and we’re gonna need him to do big things this year. He’s really good at operating the pick-and-roll, has a really good mid-range shot, is, overall, a very good shooter.”
As an international prospect, Bogavac is required to obtain a Letter of Clearance to play in the NCAA. Expected to be one of UNC’s top contributors on a squad with 11 newcomers around senior guard Seth Trimble, Bogavac led the Tar Heels in scoring during the Blue-White scrimmage.
Bogavac scored 14 points, including four 3-pointers, in his first appearance at the Smith Center.
As Bogavac waits to be cleared by the NCAA, he’s still allowed to play in the Tar Heels’ exhibition games. UNC has a scrimmage and several fan events scheduled for Oct. 17-18 in Cherokee before playing a preseason game against BYU on Oct. 24 (9 p.m., ESPN+) in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Heels close out their exhibition schedule against Winston-Salem State on Oct. 29 (7:30 p.m) at the Smith Center before opening the regular season vs. Central Arkansas on Nov. 3 (7 p.m., ACC Network) in Chapel Hill.
“The thing that I try to focus on is, I always say, what’s real and what’s in front of us. That’s our team chemistry and making sure that the pieces on the court and off the court fit well together,” Davis said.
“Thus far, it’s fit very well. The personalities and the games on the court, I really like these pieces. There’s 11 new guys. We’ve got diversity from returning players like Seth (Trimble) to transfers to international players. So, we’ve checked a number of boxes. Looking forward to getting the season started.”
