Pac-12 Basketball: Each team’s best acquisition out of 2023 transfer portal

Lazar Stefanovic – 6’7 Guard/Wing – UCLA Bruins

Lazar Stefanovic will be a familiar face in the Pac-12 to many as he joins the UCLA Bruins, leaving behind the Utah Utes in the process. He spent the last two seasons with the Utes as he built himself up as a mismatch problem at the wing/guard role.

At 6-foot-7, Stefanovic is a matchup nightmare in the making that can do a little bit of everything on the perimeter and out of the post. He produced 10.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.7 apg and 1.1 spg while shooting 35.9 percent from 3-point range across 32 games, 15 starts, in 2022-23.

He was an All-Freshmen selection in 2021-22, instantly making an impact upon his arrival in Utah. As a freshman, he posted 7.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg and 1.3 apg on 30.8 percent shooting from deep.

He’s proven to be quite a lethal weapon off the bench and even more lethal out of the starting rotation over the past few seasons. The Serbian native registered a career-high of 26 points back on Feb. 2 against Stanford, a game he started. In that one, he also knocked down a career-high six 3-pointers while shooting 10-for-22 from the floor and recorded six rebounds, five assists and four steals.

In the contest after that, he dished out a career-high six assists while appearing in a career-best 39 minutes of action in a victory over California on Feb. 5.

Stefanovic will look to fill the void left by the departure of Jaime Jacquez Jr. and Jaylen Clark. With just four returners from last year’s squad, there might be some growing pains for this group. Adem Bona is back but with a lot of unknowns in the fold, look for Stefanovic to take on a big role in the backcourt and on the wing as a primary scorer.