Knoxville, Tennessee – Rick Barnes, head coach of the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team, has signed Igor Miličić Jr., a transfer from Charlotte.
The 2023-24 Third Team All-AAC pick will join the Volunteers in 2024-25, his final season of collegiate eligibility.
“We’re thrilled Igor has opted to join the Volunteers. He is a gifted player who has had outstanding coaching throughout his career, both in college and in Europe, including instruction from his father, Igor Sr., one of the finest in the industry,” Barnes said. “A dynamic competitor, Igor has an outstanding, distinctive, and refined skill set that we believe will transfer well in the SEC. He is an excellent 3-point shooter and defensive rebounder with significant upside. Igor has crucial international experience with the Polish National Team, and he has progressed each year as a college student. We believe he will fit in well at Tennessee, both on and off the court.
Miličić, a 6-foot-10, 225-pounder, joins Rocky Top after spending two years at Charlotte and one at Virginia. He has a career average of 8.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in 82 appearances, 52 of which are starts.
Miličić has a lifetime shooting percentage of 47.6 percent from the field, including an impressive 35.8 percent from beyond the arc. He has scored in double digits 31 times, including 15-plus points on 15 occasions and 20-plus on four. In addition, he has 14 double-digit rebounding games and 11 double-doubles.
Miličić, a native of Rovinj, Croatia, had a career-best season in 2023-24, averaging 12.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.1 blocks in 31 games, 30 of which he started. He shot 48.7 percent from the field, including 37.6 percent on 4.8 3-point tries a game, and 81.8 percent from the foul line.
Miličic scored 20 double-figure points in 2023-24, including 12 15-point games and three 20-point performances. On March 6, 2024, he scored a career-high 26 points on 7-of-11 shooting against Rice and added 10 rebounds in the victory.
During his junior season with the 49ers, Miličic achieved all of his collegiate double-doubles and double-digit rebounding totals except for two. He made multiple 3-pointers 17 times, including three-plus in nine games. His performance helped Charlotte finish 19-12, including 13-5 in AAC play, good for third place.
Miličic scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds versus UCF, a Big 12 institution, on November 20, 2023, at St. Augustine, Florida. Just 19 days later, he had eight points, six rebounds, and four blocks on the road against Duke. He was one of just seven players to block four shots against the Blue Devils in 2023-24, and he was one of two to do so in Durham, N.C., along with Virginia’s Ryan Dunn. Miličic is one of just two non-Power Six players to accomplish that record versus Duke during the previous four seasons (2020-24), following USC Upstate’s Seny N’diaye over a year ago on November 11, 2022.
Miličic’s 12 double-doubles in 2023-24 placed him fourth in the AAC. He was second in the conference and 23rd nationally in defensive rebounding at 7.0 per game. Miličic was fourth in the AAC in rebounding, sixth in free throw %, ninth in blocks per game, 10th in 3-point percentage, 15th in field-goal percentage, and 15th in minutes average (32.21).
Miličic was one of only Division I players in 2023-24 to average at least 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game on 48/37/81 shooting splits, alongside UT-Martin’s Jacob Crews (First Team All-OVC) and Boston College’s Quinten Post (Second Team All-ACC). Only Miličic and Post consistently blocked at least one shot every game.
Last season, Miličic ranked 41st nationally in defensive rebounding % (25.4) and 49th in true shooting percentage (63.7), according to KenPom.
Miličic averaged 7.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game during his first year with Charlotte (2022-23). He started 22 of 35 games and helped the 49ers to a 22-14 record, their most wins since 2000-01, including a 9-11 finish in the CUSA. Miličic scored in double figures 10 times, including a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double against Detroit Mercy on December 10, 2022.
Miličic started his collegiate career at Virginia in 2021-22, averaging 2.1 points per game in 16 games, including 11 points against Coppin State on Nov. 19. The Cavaliers finished 21-14 and were sixth in the ACC at 12-8.
Miličic, a graduate of ProGenius Ulm in Germany, formerly played for Orange Academy Ratiopharm, a ProA team in Germany, before moving to Charlottesville, Virginia. Miličic, a Croatian-Polish citizen, made his debut for the Polish National Team in February 2020 during the FIBA EuroBasket qualification campaign.
Miličic’s father, Igor Miličic Sr., played professional basketball for 20 years (1993-2013) before transitioning into coaching in 2014. He has been the head coach of the Polish National Team since October 2021, and of GeVi Napoli Basket, a Serie A team that he guided to the 2023-24 Italian Cup victory, since June 2023. He won three Polish Cups as a player and two as a coach, among many other accolades.
This is the first time the Volunteers will have a Croatian player on their roster. Barnes’ prior letter winners are Olivier Nkamhoua (Finland; 2019-23), Uroš Plavšić (Serbia; 2019-23), and Yves Pons (France; 2017-21).
Miličic is the third transfer to Tennessee in 2024-25, after Hofstra guard Darlinstone Dubar and Ohio State forward Felix Okpara. The Volunteers will also have one high school signee, guard Bishop Boswell.
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