Mick Cronin is putting together the UCLA Bruins team he wants to coach through the transfer portal this offseason. UCLA was active on Thursday, adding a pair of European transfers in Filip Jovic and Sergej Macura.
From SEC to Westwood
Both Jovic and Raznatovic come to UCLA from the SEC, with Jovic playing last season with Auburn while Macura was at Mississippi State. Not only do the two players have Power Four experience, they got some years under their belt, Macura and Jovic are both 21 years old.
Both players are still underclassmen
Jovic, the 6’8” freshman who just completed his freshman season, helped the Tigers win the NIT this season, averaging 6.3 points, 4.0 rebounds while shooting 64% from the field.
Macura wrapped up his sophomore season, with the 6’9” forward scoring 5.0 points and bringing down 4.8 rebounds over 28 games with the Bulldogs. The Bruins could have both forwards for the next few seasons, raising the floor of UCLA’s frontcourt.
Don’t expect three pointers
As far as floor spacing goes, neither Macura nor Jovic are shooters. Macura shot 29% from three last year while Jovic didn’t make a single three all season.
More holes to fill
Cronin grabbed the Slovenian Macura and the Bosnian Jovic, giving next year’s roster a more Eastern European feel to it. There’s still a lot of work to be done for Cronin in the transfer portal, with UCLA graduating its two top players, Donovan Dent and Tyler Bilodeau, and seeing another starter, Skyy Clark, enter the transfer portal.
Help on the boards
Both Jovic and Macura helped attack a clear weakness for UCLA’s team last year. The Bruins played small and they got beat up on the boards because of it. Last year UCLA finished last season as the fifth-worst rebounding team in the Big Ten.
The work is only beginning for the Bruins but UCLA added a pair of forwards that will give the team more toughness on the interior.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA adds SEC forwards Filip Jovic and Sergej Macura in the portal
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
