By ADAM ZAGORIA
Andrija Jelavić, one of the top European prospects, has signed with the Kentucky men’s basketball program as announced by head coach Mark Pope on Monday. Jelavić, a 6-foot-11 forward, averaged 11.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game for Mega Superbet in the Adriatic League.
“Andrija is a really skilled, athletic, mobile, veteran player who has been playing at a high level for the last two years,” Pope said. “He’s been mentored through the development program at Mega, which is one of the best development centers for great players in Europe. Andrija has a really unique combination of size, athleticism and skill that will translate seamlessly into our system.
“When we did our Zoom, you could see the emotion on his face of how much Kentucky means to him and that he cannot wait to wear a Kentucky jersey,” Pope said.
Hailing from Zagreb, Croatia, Jelavić has spent the last two years with KK Mega Superbet. He previously suited up for OKK Beograd, KK Mega Leks U18 and KK Cedevita Olimpija Junior. A rangy big, he possesses a 7-foot-2 wingspan.
In 26 games this season, Jelavić has made 13 starts and is shooting 50% from the field, while draining 24 3-pointers at a 32.0% clip. He has charted 192 total rebounds, including 41 on the offensive end. He has dished out 38 assists and generated 25 steals. His best outing was a 23-point performance where he was 9 of 10 from the field and 3 of 4 from behind the arc against KK Partizan in January. He also hauled in a season-high 14 boards in that game. Jelavic has amassed six double-doubles and averaged nearly 28 minutes per game.
Jelavić saw action in 37 games for Mega Superbet in 2023-24 and started in every contest. He produced five double-double efforts, while reaching double-digit scoring in 21 games. For the year, he averaged 10.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He connected on 49.8% from the floor and made 40 3s at a 31.0% clip. Jelavić also shot 77.0% from the charity stripe.
In seven games at the U18 Euro Championship in 2022, Jelavić averaged 11.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in seven outings.
Jelavić is the second player from Croatia to suit up for the Wildcats, joining former Cat Zvonimir Ivisic. He is set to become the 21st all-time international player in program history.
(Release via Kentucky)
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