Wisconsin Basketball: Breaking down Badgers newcomers for 2024-25 season

Andrija Vukovic

Vukovic, a 6-foot-11 freshman center from Serbia, signed with Wisconsin in early June. The addition of Vukovic filled the Badgers’ final open scholarship spot, completing its roster for the 2024-25 season. According to the official Wisconsin athletic website, Vukovic played for the KKK Vršac in the Basketball League of Serbia, averaging 6.1 PPG, 2.5 RPG in 13 MPG, shooting 66% from the field.

Where Andrija Vukovic fits in the rotation

This offseason, Greg Gard had many holes to fill. Two notable holes he had to fill this offseason were 1.) finding an assistant coach and 2.) adding depth at the center/power forward spot. The addition of Vukovic goes hand-in-hand with these needs. To begin, Wisconsin welcomed assistant coach Lance Randall with the hope that he would help expand Wisconsin’s recruiting efforts internationally.

Randall, who has a diverse range of recruiting connections -- both in-state, across the country and of course, internationally -- could very well have played a part in landing Vukovic, helping fill the need to add depth with Wisconsin’s bigs.

After losing Gus Yalden to Seton Hall with the Chris Hodges experiment not coming to fruition, there was a clear need to add another big. Nolan Winter, who backed up Steven Crowl last year, seemed to be a more natural fit at the power forward spot, although he is familiar with playing the five -- which he will expect to do again in 2024-25. However, adding another big seemed necessary, which is where Vukovic came along. 

It is hard to firmly grasp the role Vukovic will serve in 2024-25 because, quite frankly, there is not a whole lot of information about him. However, whether he is a long-term project or not, it is clear the Wisconsin staff has plenty of confidence in his ability to be a key contributor at some point in his Badger career.