BU recruit- class of 2012- Mislav Brzoja

[Da Coach]

Another shooting guard that Coach Ford went to look at Thursday (1/26) is Mislav Brzoja, a 6'4" shooting guard originally from from Croatia. He plays for the Traders Point Christian Academy of Whitestown, Indiana. Traders Point played La Lumiere Thursday, and La Lumiere came from behind to win 65-49. Mislav Brzoja had a very nice game for TPCA.

A high school and prep school recruiting site says this about him-

http://indianarecruitingguide.com/top-un-committed-2012-prospects/top-2012-un-committed-shooting-guardssmall-forwards/

The Croatian guard came to Indiana after helping his team win the gold medal at the U16 European Championship. He also participated in the U18 European Championship, averaging nearly 14 points a game for the Croatian squad. Mislav is a great outside shooter and has good size for the 2-guard spot. Good rebounder on both ends of the court and can guard multiple positions. High-Major Prospect.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recruiting/player-Mislav-Brzoja-134009;_ylt=AmB_PUnoa2UNiCfXpwISMp7XO5B4

http://u18men.fibaeurope.com/en/cid_2bqXUaQOJwYn9c2ymJyFx0.teamID_2168.compID_8aYeHlfuGF-mF5IqO8aFH1.season_2011.roundID_7860.playerID_86017.html

http://latvia2011.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/player/p/pid/86017/sid/5194/tid/2168/_/2011_FIBA_U19_World_Championship/index.html

http://www.eurohopes.com/player/1577/mislav-brzoja/

Here are some videos of him
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INFU297eG00 (#6 in black)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHxet_hmIHk (#7 in black- playing for his Croatian national team)

[lake Camelot]

Looks pretty good. I wander if there will ne any problem with his playing overseas affecting eligibility here.

[Da Coach]

Neither of the Croatians (Brzoja or Buovac) have played with pro teams, only with Croatian national teams that would not affect their eligibility.

[BUFanatic]

Neither of the Croatians (Brzoja or Buovac) have played with pro teams, only with Croatian national teams that would not affect their eligibility.

There is ONE possible issue that could be. I have a friend here at Valparaiso that is from Croatia. He played amateur ball there and was offered a contract, but he turned it down. He is currently in an NCAA mess to prove that he never had a contract.

[LittleBrave]

This kid looks decent.
Great looking shot - quick release and works well without the ball.
Not too slow either which bodes well in Geno's offense.
From what I read, is a solid rebounder too.
His 3-point shooting stats are not great though.

[tornado]

a long, premium story about Mislav Brzoja - got the entire story on the Facebook

lots of schools recruiting him -

http://illinois.scout.com/2/1156810.html

[tornado]

yet another premium report on Brzoja


"One player who is really gaining popularity in the 2012 class is Mislav Brzoja.
The Croatian guard is attracting coaches from all over the country, and his
recruitment will be busier before the end of the season.

Brzoja brings a unique skill set to the table. His elite passing ability combined
with some serious shot making at times can mask his deficiencies on the
defensive end. Northwestern is the school that might have the inside track as
they have been on Brzoja the longest, and have a connection to him through
his roots in Croatia, but this one is not a done deal for the Wildcats. Also
Vanderbilt has done a very good job and has an offer out there, and keep an
eye on Utah who has been there for a long time. Not many know about him
now, but his name will be popular."

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=75&f=1043&t=8685520

[tornado]

followup report on Brzoja - another Croatian player- Northwestern is on him hard!
22 pts, 15 assists, 9 rebound?? Whoa...
...he is a 6-5 shooting guard while Buovac is a 6-7 small forward

http://twitter.com/#!/ScoutingIndiana/status/169480871236210688

http://twitter.com/#!/DanVeselsky/status/168324230436499459

Was at Purdue-Northwestern game

http://twitter.com/#!/INrecruitguide/status/168839850135527424

BTW -- one of Brzoja's teammates is Alex Olah - a Romanian who had previously verbaled to Northwestern
but with talk of Carmody on the hot seat is still talking to other programs...

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/137780/alex-olah

[tornado]

Brzoja getting Big East interest

https://twitter.com/#!/KyleNeddenriep/status/172117817250938880

[tornado]

some video on Brzoja

http://www.friarbasketball.net/2012/02/closer-look-at-mislav-brzoja.html

this is a 14-minute highlight video in which he looks great- he never misses even one time!

[real fan]

There might be several teams recruiting him but he would get substantial playing time at BU as we need a player that can flat out shoot the ball.

[SFP]

This rebuilding really bites to say the least. Do we have a great fan base? Are our facilities top notch? Did we bring in a coach that is a winner and knows how to win? Why are we just selling that they should get plenty of playing time? I hope that is perhaps one variable we are selling and only to a few because I hope with everything else we have going for us that we start recruiting over players and that will put pressure on the returning players to put the time into the gym this off-season.

[lake Camelot]

I think playing time, facilities, and maybe playing with a friend would be possible reasons he would come here. I think he is higher rated than we would usually get. You look at most of the schools looking at him and they are a level up.

Although it hasn't really shown yet. We are supposed to be an up tempo offense eventually. I would think that would be more fun to play in than Northwestern's style. Of course winning is fun so I hope he can visualize us doing that.

His skill set seems to fit what we need. Also he sounds like a pretty well rounded player so he may play most of the time. Not just to come in and shoot.

Question is do we have a scholarship for both the Indiana preps? Time will tell I guess.

[Da Coach]

...BTW -- one of Brzoja's teammates is Alex Olah - a Romanian who had previously verbaled to Northwestern
but with talk of Carmody on the hot seat is still talking to other programs...
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/ba...7780/alex-olah

Yes, this would be the kind of big man recruit Bradley Coach Geno Ford needs to add!
I hear he is working on recruiting another big man like Olah.

Here is an interesting connection- the head basketball coach at Trader's Point Christian Academy, and the coach that Mislav Brzoja plays for is former NBA player Dave Jamerson, who is also an outreach minister for the huge Trader's Point Christian Church in Whitestown, Indiana (just outside Indianapolis). Jamerson played collegiately at Ohio University from 1985-1990 and is still the all-time leading scorer for Ohio University (Geno is 5th on the all time list). Jamerson was a first round draft pick of the Miami heat and was traded on draft day to the Houston Rockets where he played for 3 seasons. A serious knee injury ended Jamerson's pro career prematurely, and he went into Christian ministry.
Geno played at Ohio University from 1993-1997, so they were never teammates, but they know each other pretty well. Let's hope this connection helps Bradley's recruiting of some of the talented kids at Trader's Point Academy.
Here a more about their team and about Mislav, who has grown to 6'6"-

http://www.indystar.com/article/20120203/SPORTS02/202030356/Recruiting-notebook-Traders-Point-Christian-draws-college-basketball-interest

[tornado]

Another nice game for Brzoja - 26 pts, 11 rebs, 9 asst, 5 steals

http://twitter.com/#!/DanVeselsky/status/173422957308293120