Uros Plavsic’s high school coach dishes on ASU's latest 2018 addition

ASU’s incoming freshman Uros Plavsic may have played just one year of high school basketball in the United States, but no coach knows better about the 7-1 center and his skill set than Chattanooga (Tenn.) Hamilton Heights Christian head coach, Zach Farrell. Following Plavsic’s signing with Arizona State this morning we caught up with Farrell to gain insight on the Sun Devils’ fourth member of this 2018 class.

Farrell said that the connection between he and Plavsic was made through a mutual friend who was also a former teammate of Farrell at Tennessee-Chattanooga. Farrell commented that his school has several international players on its roster so adding the Serbian center to the squad was nothing out of the ordinary, except for perhaps the timing of it.

“Uros had issues with his visa so he only arrived here in October right before the season started,” Farrell said. “But he came in and the minute he set foot on campus he worked hard and developed into a great player that can make an impact at the next level.

“He played a very good club in Serbia called Metalac that had three players drafted last year and is one of the best development clubs in that country and really in all of Europe. So that’s why he decided to come late into an American high school and into the college level here.”

As a senior for Hamilton Heights Plavsic averaged 10 points, 7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks a game for the 28-7 Hawks. The center had a 53.3 field goal percentage as well.

“Like any European player coming over there was an adjustment period to the speed and athleticism,” Farrell remarked, “and just the free flow of American basketball. And by the time he got here, we were pretty much finishing up our preseason preparations and getting into the regular season. So, there was a big learning curve there.

“But you could see the growth in Uros every day. We got a 2019 kid by the name of Jason Jitoboh who’s high-major prospect and they really battled with each other and that helped both get better all year long.

“I don’t know if steal is the right word, but ASU is getting a player who I think would be a Top-50 player in the country if he played two years of high school basketball in the United States and played summer basketball. He can shoot the three and put the ball on the floor in the open court. He rebounds very well and blocks shots. He can guard on the perimeter so he’s really good in defensive switches. There aren’t too many payers like Uros Plavsic running around who are that tall and that skilled and have the mental makeup of someone who wants to get better every day, do all the little things and wants to be coached.”

Farrell said that jump shot consistency is one aspect Plavsic can improve on, as well as improving in pick and roll situations and finishing at the basket. Even though European frontcourt players are at times stigmatized as being much more comfortable playing with their face to the basket, Plavsic has shown the adaptability to also be an effective post-up player.

“If he’s needed to post up, then he’ll do it because he’s incredibly coachable,” Farrell stated. “I think he’s more comfortable facing the basket, but we played him with his back to the basket a bunch this year and he learned to do that well. I think that will be a good part of his game too.”

Plavsic committed to Cleveland State because of the relationship he had with the school’s assistant coach and fellow countryman Drazen Zlovaric. Yet, once Zlovaric left that program the center decided on March 30th to re-open his recruitment. A couple of weeks later, ASU’s head coach Bobby Hurley traveled to Hamilton Heights to visit with the center. This spurred an official visit to ASU which began a couple of days ago as Plavsic signed his Letter of Intent with the Sun Devils before he ended his trip and left back for Tennessee.

“After he decommitted North Carolina State, Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Ole Miss were some of the schools that recruited him,” Farrell recalled. “I wasn’t surprised Uros just took one visit after he de-committed. He knew what he really wanted and didn’t want to waste any time with other visits.

“I just think people don’t realize how good of a player he really is. He can really do everything and is very athletic for his size. I think ASU is getting someone who can compete to start his freshman year and potentially be a pro in a couple of years.”