Former Tennessee basketball player Uros Plavsic is one step closer to achieving a medal at the Olympics.
Plavsic and the Serbian national team defeated Australia in overtime, 95-90, in the Olympic quarterfinal round. Plavsic did not appear in the quarterfinal round but did get a quick run during Serbia’s opening game against Puerto Rico.
If the United States squad is able to topple Brazil on Tuesday, it would set up a semi-final matchup between the USA and Serbia for a spot in the Olympic finals. France and Germany are set to square off on the other side of the bracket as both semi-final games are set for Thursday, Aug. 8.
The Americans’ team has been stout, though, with a 3-0 record and an average win margin of 21 points per contest. Serbia is led by NBA stars Nikola Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic but has already fallen to Team USA by a score of 110-84 in the group stage.
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If Serbia is able to play their way into a medal in Paris, Plavsic will mark just the third Tennessee basketball player to ever win an Olympic medal. Plavsic would join Ernie Grunfeld with the United States’ 1976 squad and Allan Houston with the United States’ 2000 squad.
Plavsic was born in Cacak, Serbia, and grew up in Ivanjica, Serbia. Plavsic first moved to the United States in 2017 and graduated from Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, TN. Plavsic spent his first collegiate season at Arizona State before transferring to Tennessee from 2019 to 2023.
The 7-foot-1 center went undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft but played with the Atlanta Hawks summer league team in 2023.
Plavsic and Serbia will play the winner of United States/Brazil on Thursday at either 11:30 a.m. ET or 3:00 p.m. ET. The gold medal game is slated for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET while the bronze medal game will take place at 5:00 a.m. ET that same day.
