One of the most underrated moves of the Florida Gators’ offseason could be the addition of forward Domen Petrovic, a player that could end up being a far more important rotation piece than people realize.
As the college basketball world turned to the professional European market for players able to come in and contribute right away, the Gators joined in by grabbing Domen Petrovic, their second international pickup of the season after Arturas Butajevas.
At this point, it must be discussed that all “international recruiting” is not the same. For example, Butajevas is a young player that’s the same age as many incoming American freshmen, and therefore should be viewed through that lens–perhaps someone that could play some minutes right away, but has their best years ahead of them. Petrovic, on the other hand, is 22 years old with over three seasons of professional experience. He is not a high-upside flyer or developmental piece the Gators think they’ll have around for four seasons–he is more akin to a graduate transfer that is close to a finished product and someone that can and will contribute right away.
Bringing in older players like this with multiple years of professional experience under their belt is certainly a controversial topic around college basketball right now, but as long as it is being allowed it is a clear avenue to get game-ready talent and Florida is trying this market for the first time with Petrovic. Urban Klavzar also had a number of years of professional basketball accumulated before he came to Gainesville, but his age allowed him to be ruled a sophomore. Petrovic’s exact number of eligible years is still being determined, but the common thought is that it will likely be one or two.
We’ve now talked a bunch about Petrovic’s professional experience, so now let’s talk about what that is.
Born in Slovenia, a country known for excellent pound-for-pound production of basketball talent, Petrovic has largely stayed in the nation for his development, working through their domestic system before landing in Slovenia’s top professional league where he played for GGD Sencur. One season his team also qualified for the second level of Adriatic League play (a collection of teams from multiple countries in the region), giving him a chance to play against even better competition. Throughout his career there was a clear growth in production, culminating in the past year where Petrovic averaged 16.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists, landing himself on the All-Star team for domestic talent.
The Slovenian professional league is not fantastic, and many of their top players head elsewhere in Europe for better competition and higher pay. However, it is still a solid league in a country that adores basketball, and Petrovic was going against grown men playing to put food on the table for them and their families and this level of production immediately stands out. As a reference point, a former Vanderbilt player you may remember in Simi Shittu who plays the same position as Petrovic averaged 11.2 points and 6.3 rebounds in the same league this season which could be something Florida’s staff noticed. Though it was back in 2018-19, Shittu averaged 10.9 points and 6.7 rebounds at Vanderbilt.
As a player, Petrovic is a skilled 6’8” or 6’9” (depending on where you look) forward who can put the ball on the floor or take deep threes that he can hit with regularity. The Gators were desperate to improve their shooting from a year ago and Petrovic looks like someone who can assist in that area as he shot 37.6% from deep on good volume, and when you watch a lot of the film you see range, a quick release, and even a good amount of looks off movement. Petrovic also loves the transition game and can get out on the run. Though he’s not an explosive athlete who is going to dunk all over everyone, he is very capable of getting to the rim with the dribble and using his length to finish craftily or draw fouls.
Though he isn’t super bulky, Petrovic plays with strength defensively and is used to powerful post up players trying to overpower him on the block. The real strength of Petrovic defensively is the lateral quickness he has to go alongside his length which allows him to stay with smaller guards in switches and keep them in front, allowing enough of a cushion where he can close out to jumpers at the last second with his length.
Given Petrovic’s age, experience, production, and style of play, Petrovic should be expected to play in the rotation right away. At 22 years old, Florida isn’t bringing him in with any expectation that he has years to develop, and with his massive levels of production against pros he will be more than ready for high-major basketball. Look for him to be the “4” off the bench that can really help the offense with shooting and playmaking off the bounce.