Tennessee basketball picked up its third commitment in the transfer portal on Monday morning when Charlotte’s Igor Milicic Jr. committed to the Vols over Baylor and Nebraska.
A rising super senior with one-year of eligibility remaining, Milicic averaged 12.8 points (49FG%/39 3PT%/82FT%), 8.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 blocks per game for the 49ers last season.
So what does Igor Milicic Jr. bring to Tennessee basketball? Take a look here.
Shooting
Shooting is where it starts for the 6-foot-10 Milicic. He flirted with being a 50/40/80 shooter last season at Charlotte while averaging 8.6 shot attempts and 4.8 three-point attempts per game.
As strong as Milicic’s normal shooting numbers are, the advanced metric like Milicic even more. Milicic’s 59.8 eFG% ranked 83rd nationally and his 63.7 true shooting percentage ranked 49th nationally. Both of those marks would have led Tennessee basketball last season.
Milicic is almost exclusively a catch-and-shoot guy and his shooting success comes from three-point range. He took 56% of his shots from three-point range last season and only 7% from the midrange. The big question for me about Milcic’s shooting is what his usage will be. At the very least, he’s a great catch-and-shoot option for Tennessee.
Adding shooting in the transfer portal was one of Tennessee’s biggest needs this offseason, Milicic becomes the second plus shooter that they’ve added alongside Hofstra’s Darlinstone Dubar.
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Versatility
While at 6-foot-10, one might think that Igor Milicic is a center, but his slender frame (225 pounds) and skillset makes him a true stretch four.
That size and shooting combination gives Milicic real versatility. The Charlotte transfer is capable of playing the five-spot some in small ball lineups and his shooting makes him capable of playing the three-spot too. I don’t think the Vols will ask him to play the three much due to the way their roster is rounding out but in certain matchups they could and that’s a nice option to have.
Offensively, the Vols can use Milicic in pick-and-pop situations which makes the possibility of him playing the five-spot intriguing because it could do wonders for Tennessee’s court spacing.
Tennessee really values versatility, especially at its wing spots, and two of the three transfers they’ve added to date are extremely versatile.
Defense
Of the high-level shooters that Tennessee has landed or targeted in the transfer portal, Milicic is by far the best defender. While missing out on Belmont’s Cade Tyson is a loss, that’s the benefit. Milicic is a much better defender.
Milicic posted a 1.23 DBPR according to EvanMiya.com last season. That’s not an elite mark by any means but is significantly better than both Dalton Knecht and Jordan Gainey the year before they got to Tennessee. There’s a lot of reasons to think Milicic will thrive defensively at Tennessee.
The Croatia native’s length is the biggest reason. He ranked in the top 300 nationally last season with a 3.8 block rate. That’s an impressive number for someone who isn’t a five-man and it was better than anyone other than Jonas Aidoo or Tobe Awaka on last season’s team.
Milicic isn’t a complete defender but there’s a ton to like on that end especially considering his shooting ability.
One Response
Amazing pick up from Charlotte, Coach must be thoroughly pleased with recruiting amazing how coach is simply attracting right people by doing “OUTSTANDING JOB” best coach ever in basketball history of UT.