One of the benefits of being a program in Florida’s position is that they can both go after some of the top talent available in the transfer portal and also look for underrated players across the globe. With the name recognition to attract these players and the base level of talent that allows them to take swings that won’t sink them if they miss, the Gators are looking across the globe to get some gems that could make a splash in America.
One of the players on Florida’s list is Marko Radunovic, a 6’7” wing from Montenegro. While he’s an unknown name to most people in America he has been a popular NBA Draft sleeper among people who cover such things in Europe and as he continues to get better he has started to receive attention from top college programs such as Florida.
As is the case with the structure in European basketball, Radunovic simultaneously plays at a number of different levels for his club team KK Podgorica–getting minutes with the top club playing at the ABA (a regional Adriatic team with the top clubs around), the regular team in the Montenegrin league, and the U19 team that goes to play at different events around Europe. Here is what he has been averaging at each of these levels:
ABA League (the top Adriatic league):
17.5 MPG
4.3 PPG
3.3 RPG
0.8 APG
0.6 SPG
13% Three-Point
Montenegro League:
21.0 MPG
9.1 PPG
4.7 RPG
1.6 APG
1.0 SPG
37% Three-Point
U19 Competition:
30.7 MPG
21.3 PPG
12.3 RPG
4.0 APG
2.3 SPG
2.3 BPG
14% Three-Point
As you can see he has dominated against players his age and done really well in his domestic league competition at the professional level, but isn’t quite at the point he can be a huge contributor at the ABA level–which isn’t at all a slight given just how good the ABA is. Now, to talk about Radunovic as a player you have to start by taking away a lot of the stereotypes you might have about European talent. Many of the young players, particularly the ones that have been heading to the NCAA, are guys that are extremely talented and have high basketball IQ–but are giving up some things in terms of size and athleticism. Well, Radunovic doesn’t fit that bill. At 6’7” he is a tremendous athlete who is extremely bouncy and explosive, something that’s evidenced by the highlights you’ll see of him when you search his name. However, the thing keeping him from being a top European talent is the skill and IQ level that isn’t terrible–but just isn’t as elite as what you normally see from the kinds of guys teams like Florida are looking at.
This is a big reason why he has bullied competition at the U19 level using his length, speed, and leaping ability to dominate, and also why he’s done well against pros in Montenegro–but hasn’t quite been able to translate to the very good ABA.
If you take away the European mold of a savvy player who is going to come to America and play a surgical game with passing and reads and instead look at the 6’7” athlete–he looks like a lot of the guys that high-major teams are currently pursuing. Golden hasn’t been able to bring a lot of true wings to the Gators since coming to Gainesville, and that’s because there just simply aren’t many of these guys and the ones that do have size and skill at the wing are extremely expensive. Looking at someone like Radunovic the Gators will see someone who has high-major length and athleticism and someone that could be overlooked by their competition.
Given Golden and his staff’s focus on international recruiting and the fact that Radunovic plays a position and role where there isn’t a lot of supply–this is a name to look out for.