Tennessee forward Igor Milicic Jr. is playing on the Polish national team this week as they look to qualify for the 2024 Olympics.
Poland is one of six nations competing in a tournament this week in Valencia, Spain with a spot in the 2024 Olympics on the line. Eight of the 12 spots in the Olympics are already filled but the other four spots will be filled with four different six-team tournaments this week.
Milicic and Poland will face the Bahamas in its first game Wednesday before facing Finland on Thursday. Four teams will advance out of the group stage and to the semifinals of the tournament which begins on Saturday. The championship game is on Sunday.
The incoming Tennessee basketball transfer is a Rijeka, Croatia native but has dual citizenship and is playing with Poland. His father, Igor Milicic Sr, is a successful European club league coach and is the head coach for the Polish national team.
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Poland played in five exhibition games over the last couple weeks. In those five games, Milicic averaged 9.4 points, 6 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1 block per game. The 6-foot-10 wing shot 44% from the field and seven-of-18 (39%) from tree-point range in the games against Greece, Croatia, Brazil, New Zealand and the Philippines.
Milicic was the third of four additions to Tennessee basketball’s roster this offseason via the transfer portal. The stretch four-man committed to Rick Barnes and his staff after taking visits to Tennessee, Nebraska and Baylor.
In his junior season at Charlotte, Milicic averaged 12.8 points on 49% shooting from the field and 38% shooting from three-point range while adding 8.5 rebounds per game. Milicic has one year of college eligibility remaining after playing one season at Virginia and two seasons at Charlotte.
