UCLA Men's Basketball Reels in Utah Transfer Wing Lazar Stefanovic
The Bruins have picked up their first transfer addition of the cycle.
Former Utah guard Lazar Stefanovic has committed to UCLA men's basketball, he announced Saturday afternoon on Twitter. Stefanovic entered the transfer portal on March 23, right after his sophomore season with the Utes, and he will now use his last two years of eligibility in Westwood.
Stefanovic – who was on campus Saturday – will become the first transfer to join the Bruins since Myles Johnson in 2021. With the amount of talent leaving the lineup, Stefanovic likely won't be the last of the offseason either.
UCLA has already had guard Jaylen Clark and guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. declare for the 2023 NBA Draft, while guard David Singleton exhausted his eligibility. Clark could still return to school, but due to the Achilles injury he suffered on March 4, he wouldn't be expected to return to action until January regardless.
As a result, the Bruins are going to need major reinforcements on the wing – even if guard Amari Bailey decides to stick around in Westwood another year.
Stefanovic fits that bill, spending the past two seasons as a part-time starter at Utah.
In his debut campaign, Stefanovic averaged 7.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.4 steals in 25.1 minutes per game en route to a spot on the 2022 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. Stefanovic bumped those figures up to 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals in 28.3 minutes per game as a sophomore.
Stefanovic has attempted 260 3-pointers in his career, compared to 267 2-pointers. The wing improved his perimeter shooting from 30.8% to 35.9% this season, and he is a 85.1% free throw shooter for his career.
The Belgrade, Serbia, native was a three-star recruit back in 2020. Had current UCLA assistant coach Ivo Simovic been on the staff back then, perhaps the Bruins would have been a contender for his initial commitment.
Simovic is Serbian as well, and he was brought in to spark UCLA's international recruiting last June. He made his first splash by signing guard/forward Abramo Canka in August 2022, and the Bruins have been in on several other top prospects from overseas since then.
Depending on the other roster moves coming down the pipeline, it remains to be seen is Stefanovic will slide right into UCLA's starting lineup. He has experience playing big minutes at the Pac-12 level, though, and he projects as a steady rotational player in Westwood at the very least.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF LAZAR STEFANOVIC/TWITTER
