The Indiana Hoosiers are down in the Bahamas for a preseason trip that will showcase two games against international competition.
IU will play two games against BC Mega - a professional team from Serbia. The first game will be Friday night at 7:30 pm ET and the second and final game will be Sunday at 1:00 pm ET. There will be no television or radio coverage of the game.
TheHoosier.com will provide 2 minutes of allowed game action following each game.
“I think this opportunity will be extremely beneficial to the young men in our program,” said IU head coach Mike Woodson. “They’ve worked extremely hard this summer and to have the chance to test yourselves against professional basketball players is invaluable. We’ll be able to learn a lot about ourselves and we’ll use that to our advantage as we prepare for our official practices to start in late September and games in early November.”
BC Mega's roster is headlined by18-year old Nikola Jovic. Jovic is a projected first round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
He is a 6-foot-10 forward who averaged 15.8 points per game last season. He also averaged 18.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup.
At the 2021 Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament, he averaged 29.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. He also shot 66 percent from the field.
Another name that could be familiar to IU fans is former Dayton point guard Schoochie Smith. He played in 138 career games (101 starts) for the Flyers, averaging 9.3 points and 3.6 assists per game. He was a First-Team All-A10 selection as a senior for averaging 13.8 points and 4.5 assists while shooting 38.8 percent from three.
Smith is the only player smaller than 6-foot-6 on the roster.
Some notable former players for Mega have been Boban Marjanovic (Dallas Mavericks), Goga Bitadze (Indiana Pacers), Filip Petrusev (Philadelphia 76ers/Gonzaga - 2020 All-American), Ivica Zubac (Los Angeles Clippers), and most notably the 2021 NBA MVP Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets).
In total, BC Mega has had 12 players selected in the NBA Draft since 2014.
"They have a big team. Good point guard. We have to put a head on him. They have a lot of shooters. Play four around one. It will be a very good test for our ball club, "Woodson said. "I’m anxious to get to the Bahamas and see where we are as a team."
For Indiana, while everyone made the trip to the Bahamas, it will be shorthanded in both games this week.
Center's Michael Durr and Logan Duncomb are both expected to miss both games.
IU came into the season with great depth on the frontline but will now be down to just Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson as true post players. Sophomore Jordan Geronimo will likely see added time with the lack of frontcourt bodies.
In total, IU brings in five new faces either through the transfer portal or in its 2021 recruiting class. It will also see Parker Stewart play on the court for the first time since transferring in mid-year from UT-Martin a season ago.
"We've just been working the last month and a half to prepare for this Bahama trip," Woodson said. "There's been a lot of input both ways with the players and coaching staff and from where we started to where we are today, we've gotten a lot better."
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