Aleksa Jugovic, the only senior on Tech’s men’s basketball team who has played all four years without redshirting, is preparing for his final season as a Golden Eagle.
Jugovic is from Serbia and during his junior and senior year of high school he started on Serbia’s U-18 national team that competed in the International Basketball Federation, or FIBA, Europe U-18 Championship. They finished with a 6-4 record.
When he first came to the United States four years ago it was a tough adjustment.
“It was a unique experience, I was so far away from my family. I was so used to a certain type of life, of basketball. It has been a huge change, but the coaches, the athletic department and everyone here was so helpful in this process. When I first got here I didn’t know what to expect. When I saw the pride Tech had, I knew I had to win,” Jugovic said.
In Jugovic’s first season as a Golden Eagle he started in three games, and played in all 30. He averaged a freshman-high 17.9 minutes per game. He had the third most assists, averaged 5.8 points per game and lead the team with an 81.4 free throw percentage.
Jugovic said when he first came to Tech wanted to live up to the expectations. This year he wants to assert himself and take control as a senior.
“As a team, we have really progressed. My freshman year, we were at the bottom of the conference, then the next year we were fighting for the championship. That shows how much we improved. We always stick together as a team, and that is crucial,” Jugovic said.
Jugovic said this team has seen a lot of turnover, but the goals they set for themselves have never changed.
“We have so much desire and passion to have all those people support us and be a family. We have desire to prove ourselves. We deserve to be at the top of the league. We deserve to have the best fans supporting us. We are going to try and do our best for the fans. We want them to buy in,” Jugovic said.
The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles men’s basketball team released their schedule for the upcoming 2017-2018 season, which includes 14 home games.
The Golden Eagles first home game is against Midway University, which is scheduled Nov. 10.
