When Florida had an open scholarship late in the spring, the expectation was that they would likely use the spot on some kind of flyer with little chance of ever contributing at the SEC level. We’ve seen the Gators take multiple swings like that over the last decade, whether it be undersized, underrecruited guards, or raw junior college bigs that were underskilled but high motor. Those moves haven’t exactly worked out–but with the final spot on the roster not a lot can be expected.
That was until this offseason, when the Gators landed Viktor Mikic, a legit talent with professional experience, and someone that could give the Gators a legitimate boost in the frontcourt.
Mikic is a 6’11”, 235 center originally hailing from the basketball-crazed country of Serbia that has been producing elite hoops talent for decades. Identified as a quality player from early in teens, he was offered a position on the development roster of prestigious club Partizan Belgrade. Partizan is one of the top basketball clubs in all of Europe, and they have a reputation for developing elite homegrown talent. After spending a couple of years in the U19 Partizan system, he moved to Dunav to play in the top league in Serbia and cut his teeth against professionals. This was while he was a mere 17 year old, and while there were growing pains, he was able to learn quickly playing in important games against men and finished the season averaging 6.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
Where Mikic really started to get buzz was at the Adidas Next Generation tournament, an event featuring some of the top young players in Europe. In two summers playing in this key recruiting event, Mikic turned heads with his great size and production averaging 12.7 points and 8.4 rebounds while impacting the defensive end with his rim protection.
Hoping to play college basketball but not having the buzz he expected after some tremendous performances in Europe, Mikic made the huge decision to come to America for his final year of high school and compete for Hamilton Heights in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Hamilton Heights is a perennial powerhouse, and it gave Mikic the exposure he needed to get involved with high-major programs. Mikic played well, but given that this was the final season where players could use a fifth year of eligibility, high school recruiting was still down, and he didn’t get many looks past the mid-major level until teams like Rutgers and ultimately Florida jumped in.
When it comes to players that Hamilton Heights has produced, they have done particularly well with centers over the last decade. It’s rare for even the top high school programs to produce multiple D-I players every year, but they have done it with regularity. Additionally–a number of these players were not huge name recruits, but were players that went on to have great success in college. That list consists of Abdul Ado (Mississippi State), Keon Ambrose (Alabama), Somto Cyril (Georgia), Jason Jitoboh (Florida), Bayron Matros (New Mexico), Felix Okpara (Ohio State), and Uros Plavsic (Tennessee). That is a remarkable amount of centers to be produced from one program, and they all were able to be productive college players. Another similarity between these players and Mikic? Six of seven of them were international players, coming from Nigeria, Canada, and in the case of Plavsic–Serbia, just like Mikic.
Given the success of all these international bigs from Hamilton Heights, along with Mikic’s experience at the professional level–and it’s hard to see him not becoming a useful player in college. While Florida has a full frontcourt between Alex Condon, Reuben Chinyelu, Thomas Haugh, and Sam Alexis, there is still a chance Mikic could push for some minutes. Florida would love to play Condon and Alexis exclusively at the power forward spot, and they’d also like to see Thomas Haugh taking some minutes at small forward. That would open up a chance for Mikic to get an opportunity at the backup center position, and considering his experience against grown men in Europe it’s a position he is likely ready for even as a freshman.
The addition of Mikic also really helps Florida from a roster management standpoint. The fact of the matter is that there aren’t enough true centers to meet demand in college basketball, and finding true centers in the transfer portal is extremely difficult and expensive. Florida is looking to bring in true freshmen at the center position in hopes to get early production like they did from Alex Condon last year, and retaining them which is always going to be cheaper than getting similar talent in the portal.
When it comes to Florida’s 2024-25 season Viktor Mikic might not be the biggest or most important name, but look for him to get an opportunity at some point where he can showcase his huge frame and experience.