Nikola Dzepina continued to evolve as a take-charge basketball player as the 6-foot-10 power forward led his Serbian national team to a fifth consecutive lopsided victory and into the semifinals of FIBA U20 Eurobasket in Slovenia.
On Thursday, the University of Washington sophomore scored 14 points to top five players on his team in double figures and propel the Serbs to a 92-66 victory over Greece.
The outcome sent Dzepina and his teammates into Saturday’s semis against Spain (5-0) with a spot in Sunday’s championship game at stake. France (5-0) and host Slovenia (5-0) will meet in the other semifinal.
After using him as a deep sub as a freshman, the Huskies are banking on Dzepina taking a summer of international play to make himself a much bigger contributor after yet another roster revamp in Montlake.
So far, so good.
The UW’s Niko Dzepina battles against Greece in Eurobasket. | FIBA
Against Greece, he was efficient by connecting on 5 of 11 shots, 3 of 6 from 3-point range, while grabbing a pair of rebounds, blocking a shot and dishing out an assist.
After five outings, Dzepina ranks as the eighth-highest scorer at Eurobasket, averaging 15 points per game while shooting 52.1 percent from the field, 38.9 from behind the line.
Niko Dzepina battles inside against Greece in Eurobasket. | FIBA
Dzepina and his fellow Serbs have played so well together they’ve won their five games in Slovenia by 17, 22, 23, 23 and 26 points.
Interestingly, he plays alongside 6-foot-10 forward Niko Bundalo, a McDonald’s All-American who committed to coach Danny Sprinkle and the UW before changing directions and signing with Mississippi. However, he appeared in just 11 games for the SEC team before entering the transfer portal this past season.
Against Greece, Bundalo had 12 points and 7 rebounds.
In December, Dzepina enrolled in school and joined the Huskies nine games into the season. As a freshman, he wound up playing in 14 games while sitting out another 10.
His minutes increased late in the season when the UW was hit by a rash of injuries and were left with just seven healthy scholarship players for the final month of the schedule.
Meantime, Slovenia guard Urban Kroflic, reportedly getting recruited by the UW and playing in front of Sprinkle, broke loose for a 26-point outing in a 90-72 victory over Turkey.
The 6-foot-6 shooting guard was at his best by connecting on 8 of 15 shots overall, 4 of 9 from 3-point range, while grabbing 7 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists, thus helping his team into the semifinals, as well.
If all goes well for the Huskies, Dzepina and Kroflic will put their respective teams in the Eurobasket championship game, while Sprinkle comes home with a starting forward in his Serbian forward and a commitment from the Slovenian guard.
Add us as a preferred source on Google