| No. 8 Philadelphia 76ers | |
|---|---|
| Center | |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | October 24, 1990 |
| Place of birth | Morges, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Montenegrin |
| High school | Stoneridge Prep |
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Listed weight | 260 lb (118 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | USC (2008–2011) |
| NBA Draft | 2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 16th overall |
| Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers | |
| Pro career | 2011–present |
| Career history | |
| 2011 | Budućnost Podgorica |
| 2011– | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
Nikola Vučević (born October 24, 1990 in Morges, Switzerland) is a Montenegrin professional basketball player who plays for the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA. He was selected 16th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft. He played college basketball for the University of Southern California (USC) Trojans.
Contents |
Vučević averaged 18 points and 12.0 rebounds as a senior at Stoneridge Prep in Simi Valley, California. Under coach Babacar Sy, he was the leading scorer, rebounder, and was team captain. He arrived at the school in October from his native Montenegro.
Vučević played three seasons with the Trojans of the University of Southern California.
Vučević missed the first eight games of the season while waiting to have his amateur status confirmed by the NCAA Clearinghouse. He averaged 2.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in 23 games in three starts. Vučević played in his first game with USC on December 15, 2008, against Pepperdine and had two points, two blocks, and two rebounds in six minutes. He made his first start of the season on January 24, 2009, at Washington State and was instrumental in the Trojans' 46–44 win with a season-high eight points and five rebounds. He also scored eight points on February 9, 2009, at UCLA and in his second start of the season on February 19 against Washington State. Vučević had a season-best seven rebounds in that game and matched that total on March 5, 2009, vs. Oregon. Nikola scored six points and had four rebounds in the NCAA second-round loss to Michigan State on March 22. In all, he made 57.8 percent of his shots from the field (26-for-45).
Vučević began to excel in his sophomore season where he was the second top scorer and the best rebounder on the Trojans, with 10.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. He finished second on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg) and first in rebounding (9.4 rpg). He led USC in scoring five times and in rebounding 20 times, including the last nine games. Vučević lead the Pac-10 with 283 rebounds and offensive rebounds per game (6.3) and his 39 blocks were the fourth most in the conference. Vučević's .504 shooting percentage (126-for-250) led USC and was seventh best in the Pac-10. Vučević was named the 2009-10 Pac-10 Most Improved Player.[1] He had the second most blocks ever in a season by a Trojan sophomore and the third most rebounds. Vučević started all 30 games for USC and posted 10 double-doubles. He scored 18 points and had eight rebounds in the first game of the season against UC Riverside on November 17, 2009, both totals better than any of his freshman games. Vučević had 18 points and 14 rebounds at Texas on December 3, 2009. He scored a career-high 19 points and had 11 rebounds vs. Loyola Marymount on November 21, 2009, for his first career double-double. Matched his career high with 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting at UCLA on January 16, 2010, scoring 17 points in the second half.
As a junior, he was picked to the Fourth Team All-America by Fox Sports.[2] Vučević was included in the top five of the conference. In March 2011, Vučević announced that he would give up his senior year to be submitted to the NBA Draft. The website NBAdraft.net projected him as the 23rd pick in the draft.[3]
During his tenure with the Trojans, Vučević averaged 11.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
Vučević was drafted with the 16th pick of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers on June 23, 2011.[4] During the 2011 NBA lockout, Vučević played for KK Budućnost Podgorica in Montenegro. He signed with the 76ers on December 9, 2011 for the 2011–12 NBA season.[5]
Vučević was raised in Belgium where his father, Borislav, played professional basketball. Borislav played professionally for 24 years and was a member of the Yugoslavian national basketball team. His father also coached professionally in Belgium. Nikola's mother also played professional basketball in Bosnia. His family moved to Montenegro when he was a teenager. In 2007, he was voted the best young player in Montenegro. Vučević was ranked as one of the top four players in Montenegro in 2005 and 2006. He says his dream job outside of basketball would be to become an actor. Vučević wore the number 5 when he was at USC because his sister was born on the 5th of September.
|
|
|||||
|
|
||||||||