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Luka Bogavac is the first true foreign Tar Heel of this century.
Back in the day, Dean Smith often signed up international players because they would be better teammates than basketball players. Smith did it for the diversity of his squad and what they could learn from each other.
Randy Wiel from Curacao in the Caribbean Sea was the first foreign-born Smith signed after hearing about Wiel from former Duke star Dick DeVenzio, who was coaching on the island in the summer of 1976. Wiel was a reserve who went into coaching but not before he strummed his guitar for friends and fans, who loved him.
Timo Makkonen from Lahti, Finland, who finished high school in North Carolina before joining the Tar Heels in 1981, was a reserve on Smith’s first national championship team in 1982. Makkonen wound up working for Michael Jordan’s company.
Steve Bucknall was a rugged forward from London who made second-team All-ACC playing for the 1989 ACC champion Tar Heels.
Henrik Rodl came here as a foreign exchange student from Germany, attending East Chapel Hill High School and was an important reserve on UNC’s 1993 NCAA champions.
Serge Zwikker, a 7-foot-3 Dutch reserve center for the Tar Heels, worked his way into the starting lineup for the 1997 team that won the ACC championship and reached the Final Four while Smith became the highest-winning college coach with 877 victories.
In 1999, German Ademola Okulaja made second-team All-ACC as Carolina’s leading scorer who stayed for his senior year after classmates Vince Carter an Antawn Jamison turned pro as juniors.
Orlando Melendez was a four-year letterman after moving from his native Puerto Rico to North Carolina. Recently, James Okonkwo came to this country from England — but arrived to Carolina as a reserve transfer from West Virginia.
Now, the Tar Heels will want more than cultural information from Bogavac, the 21-year-old pro from Montenegro who is expected to fill a hole on the perimeter like Cormac Ryan did for the 2024 Heels.
Bogavac signed his first pro contract when he was an 18-year-old “senior” in the European ABA League. His game improved as he grew to his current 6-foot-5 size and starred for the FIBA European championship team in 2022 and brings some gaudy stats to UNC.
In his last season as a European star, Bogavac averaged just under 15 points a game, shot 45% from the field and 40% from the 3-point line. And don’t send this young man to the free throw line where he made 87 percent last season.
Bogavac doesn’t come to the States with the rep of Luka Doncic or Nikola Jokic or Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Greek Freak. But he is potentially the best foreign player to ever suit up for the Tar Heels. And, reportedly, Hubert Davis and GM Jim Tanner are scouting other international stars who they hope can vault the Tar Heels back to the top of the ACC.
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Featured image via SC Derby/Filip Roganovic and the ABA League.
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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