Entering the 2024-2025 season, there are many fresh faces for Rick Barnes and Tennessee basketball. The Volunteers lost Josiah Jordan-James, Dalton Knecht, and Santiago Vescovi as they ran out of eligibility as well as Jonas Aidoo, Tobe Awaka, D.J. Jefferson and Freddie Dilione left to enter the transfer portal.
Leading up to Tennessee basketball’s tipoff against Gardner Webb on Monday, Rocky Top Insider will look at each newcomer, detailing their path to wearing the orange and white, their style of play, and how they may contribute for the Volunteers.
6-Foot-10 Igor Miličić Jr. makes his way to East Tennessee, coming after many stops along the way.Miličić was born in Pula, Croatia, and holds citizenship in Poland, where his father coaches and has won many Polish championships. Before arriving at Tennessee, he played for Orange Academy Ratiopharm of the German Pro B league. On top of this, he participated in the German A league for three games for Ratiopharm Ulm. After his play in the German leagues, he went on to play one year in the ACC with Virginia.
Following his lone season with the Cavaliers, he transferred to Charlotte where he played for two years before leaving to join the Volunteers.
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Miličić averaged 2.1 points and 0.9 rebounds for the Cavaliers. He shot 38% from the field, and 36.4% from beyond the arc while appearing in 16 games. Following his freshman season he entered the transfer portal. Looking for somewhere he would have a better chance of showing his skillset, he ended up at Charlotte. He received this chance at Charlotte, where he started 52 of the 66 games he played.
In his first season at Charlotte, he started 22 games while appearing in 35 of 36 games. The 6-foot-10 stretch forward averaged 7.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Miličić shot 47.6% from the field, and 33.6% from three.
Miličić continued his upward trajectory in his second season at Charlotte, where he increased his averages from 7.8 points per game to 12.8 points per game, as well as 4.1 rebounds per game to 8.5 rebounds per game. His three-point percentage also increased from 33.6% to a 37.6 percentage mark. He finished the season with ten double-doubles and was named to the All-AAC Third Team.
In Tennessee’s exhibition against Indiana, Miličić started at the four-spot, headlining the front court with fellow transfer Felix Oxpara. Miličić gives Tennessee more versatility in the front court than years prior, as he is 6-foot-10, but can play on the perimeter as well as banging inside the paint. Miličić also gives the offense more of a threat in dribble-handoffs or screen actions. He is a threat to roll to the basket or pop outside into open space, putting opposing defenses into scramble situations.
Miličić is not only a catch-and-shoot threat while on the perimeter, he can also get to the rim. In a highlight at Charlotte, Miličić caught at the three-point line and took one dribble before a monster dunk.
IGOR MILICIC MY GOODNESS 😳
(via @CharlotteMBB)
pic.twitter.com/AXKwyDX1t2— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 6, 2024
In his final season at Charlotte, Miličić ranked in the 87th percentile on spot-up shooting in all of college basketball. It may take a while for the game to slow down for the European forward, but once he gets comfortable, he will be an elite tool who could excel on both ends of the floor. As the season goes on, look for Miličić to improve and get more comfortable, as he improved over time at Charlotte. His many highlights in the Queen City can be seen below.
Igor Milicic.
WANT!
6’10” 225lb Forward that moves like a guard.
3-level scorer. Beautiful shooting stroke. pic.twitter.com/b5ZWU79sut
— Jordan Moore (@jordanmoore_21) April 13, 2024
If Miličić continues to play at the four-spot, this will give the Volunteers many different looks to work with. Tennessee’s length could provide a great rim-protecting defense, but also different looks on the offensive end. With the versatility of Miličić, Rick Barnes could go to many high-low looks between the four and five-men, which would be complimentary to the style of defense that Barnes’s teams display year in and year out. If Tennessee reaches its ceiling, Miličić will need to be a key piece on this Tennessee team.
The Volunteers host Gardner Webb at the Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center to start their season on Monday, Nov. 4th.
