Still in the middle of building his 2022-23 roster, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd did a little foundational work Tuesday.
In Serbian wing Filip Borovicanin, who signed a letter-of-intent to play for the Wildcats next season, Lloyd is bringing in another key to his uptempo, ball-screen oriented offense: A big, high-IQ guard who is equally comfortable scoring and passing.
โI think heโs a guy that can really shoot from the perimeter, heโs comfortable from midrange and finishing inside,โ Lloyd said Tuesday during a brief interview to discuss his second 2022 signee. โHeโs also comfortable handling the ball in ball-screen situations, and (in) making passes and reads.
โI love guys that are comfortable handling the ball and making decisions, and having multiple ball-handlers. He definitely falls in that category.โ
Lloyd said he started recruiting Borovicanin about a year ago. The 6-foot-8-inch, 180-pound Serbian had already blown up regionally in March 2020, when he averaged 34.6 points a game in a European EYBL event, and he drew praise from scouting service SerbiaHoop a year later despite not playing for a major club program.
โHe is definitely a player to keep an eye on,โ SerbiaHoop tweeted in March 2021. โWell sized for a guard standing at 6-7 with a body that is still far from developed. Great skills, play with ease, high level potential.โ
Borovicanin played the 2021-22 season for Serbian third-division club KK Beko in his hometown of Belgrade. He averaged 20 points, nine rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, according to Balkan Prospects.
Along the way, Borovicanin also received offers from Texas Tech and Xavier, pitting Lloyd against former UA coach Sean Miller. He also had the option to turn professional in Europe.
Lloyd is well-known for his international recruiting background, but said there wasnโt any particular connection that led to Borovicanin choosing the Wildcats.
โHeโs one of those kids you hear about, then you just start tracking and you develop relationships,โ Lloyd said. โNothing crazier than that.
โThese kids always have other opportunities. But obviously, they showed a strong interest in the NCAA and us in particular, so we stayed on it.โ
While Borovicanin is expected to have an impact on the Wildcats at some point, heโll start off with a lot of proven veterans ahead of him.
The Wildcatsโ perimeter group already consists of juniors Kerr Kriisa, Pelle Larsson and possibly Dalen Terry โ who is believed to be considering testing the NBA Draft, even as UA on Tuesday tweeted a photo of him at a UA practice. Then thereโs sophomore Adama Bal, who showed flashes of high potential late last season, and sophomore guard Shane Nowell.
Filip Borovicanin picked the UA offer offers from Xavier and Texas Tech.
While Lloyd said he wouldnโt compare Borovicanin to Bal, the Serbian could follow a similar path in playing time.
โHe obviously has tons of potential and I think remains to be seen exactly what his role will be here,โ Lloyd said of Borovicanin. โNot that heโs not really talented but sometimes with kids, you want to give them a little bit of a grace period to adjust.โ
Borovicanin is the Wildcatsโ first Serbian signee since Dusan Ristic, who finished a four-year career with the Wildcats in 2018. Reached via direct message Tuesday, the former UA center said he didnโt know much about Borovicanin but that heโs heard he has โhigh potential.โ
In the Wildcatsโ freshman class, Borovicanin will join 7-foot center Dylan Anderson of Gilbert and possibly five-star guard Kylan Boswell, who is considering moving up from the class of 2023. Arizona is also believed to be recruiting Estonian big man Henri Veesaar, among others.
Arizona now has 10 players on its tentative 2022-23 roster, leaving at least three open scholarship spots. Lloyd is not expected to carry more than 12 scholarship players. He has been bracing for the possibility that Arizona might receive scholarship limitations as a result of its still-pending infractions case.
