By SAM LANCE
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Before this summer, class of 2027 big man Nicolas Mitrovic was relatively unknown. He’s now one of the best rated centers in his class.
Mitrovic, the 6-foot-11 big man out of CATS Academy (MA) and the Expressions Elite Nike EYBL AAU program, is Serbian. His parents grew up there before moving to Spain, where Mitrovic was born.
“I grew up in America and Moscow, Russia,” Mitrovic told ZAGSBLOG. “I moved a lot as a kid. But then I went to prep school at Hoosac and now I transferred to CATS. I’m really finding my new wave and I really like it. So I feel like moving around a lot gave me a good mindset in basketball and in life, being more cultured.”
Although he’s a year younger, Mitrovic played up with Expressions Elite 17u this summer. He was the highest-rated prospect (No. 80) on a team made up of under-the-radar talent. The big man averaged 1.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks at Peach Jam to help Expressions to the semifinals, a place nobody really expected them to be. For the regular season, Mitrovic posted 9.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.
“We kept it to the basics, played together,” Mitrovic said of the Peach Jam run. “Each day someone else took over, and I love that about our team. We don’t really care about the rankings, what they say about us. We just play basketball. Basketball is for everyone, no matter the rankings, how many offers you have. So we definitely had a chip on our shoulder from that.”
How does Mitrovic describe his skillset?
“I like to shoot,” he said. “I really like to have a versatile skillset, especially being able to dribble and put it on the floor once I get the rebound. Definitely rebounding a lot, offensive rebounds. I’ve been working a lot on my moves definitely in the paint. Just being able to put it on the floor.”
Right now, Mitrovic has no offers, but he said he’s received interest from the likes of Illinois, Kansas, Northwestern, Providence, Purdue, Syracuse, Villanova and Xavier.
“And it goes on,” Mitrovic said. “Those were the schools that did reach out to me during the contact period. It’s mostly just everyday, new school. I think I mentioned most of them. Then you have mid-majors.”
Mitrovic said Kansas, Northwestern and Purdue are a few standing out right now, but it’s too early to really have thoughts. The big man hasn’t taken any visits yet, but would like to do so this fall. When he takes trips, he’s looking at a few aspects of programs.
“Development,” he said. “I love development. I like someone who will just put me in the gym, work with me, tell me what I’m not good at and work on it until I’m really good at it. That’s what I’ve been doing here with Expressions. They tell me I’m not good at it and they work with me on it. They don’t see a minus as like a bad thing. They see it as something they can fix, which is really good.”
When he gets to college, Mitrovic sees himself as someone who can be a modern big man and pass, dribble, shoot.
“I’d like to be a tall four,” Mitrovic said. “Definitely a four. Play the four/five and rotate around that. I like having the ball in my hands, whether it’s making a play out of it scoring, I don’t really mind. I just like narrating the offense. It’s one of my favorite things to do.”
There are a few NBA players that Mitrovic really enjoys watching: Nikola Mirotic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kristaps Porziņģis. Mitrovic said he’s drawn comparisons to both Mirotic and Porzingis.
Mitrovic is ranked the No. 80 overall prospect in the 2027 class by 247Sports. His performances at Nike Elite 100 Camp in Saint Louis helped put him on the map for his ranking. Off the court, Mitrovic enjoys gaming, being with friends and playing the piano.
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram
The post Class of 2027 big man Nicolas Mitrovic on the map after standout summer appeared first on Zagsblog.