Nikola "Nick" Rakocevic (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Ракочевић; born December 31, 1997) is a Serbian professional basketball player for the Sagesse Club of the Lebanese Basketball League. He played college basketball for the USC Trojans and attended St. Joseph High School in Westchester, IL. Born in the United States, he represents Serbia internationally.
 Rakocevic (#31) with USC in 2019 | |
| No. 31 – Sagesse SC | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward |
| League | Lebanese Basketball League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | December 31, 1997 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Nationality | American / Serbian |
| Listed height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | St. Joseph (Westchester, Illinois) |
| College | USC (2016–2020) |
| NBA draft | 2020: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2020–present |
| Career history | |
| 2020–2022 | Zhejiang Golden Bulls |
| 2022 | Magnolia Hotshots |
| 2023 | Zhejiang Golden Bulls |
| 2023–2024 | Jilin Northeast Tigers |
| 2024–present | Sagesse Club |
High school career edit
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Rakocevic was born in Chicago to Momo and Denise Rakocevic. His father emigrated from Belgrade, Serbia at age 25. Rakocevic played for St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois under coach Gene Pingatore. As a junior, he was a starter on the Class 3A state championship team.[1][2] In his senior season, Rakocevic averaged 19.8 points, 14.4 rebounds and four blocks per game, leading his team to the Class 3A Westinghouse Sectional title.[3] He earned First Team All-State honors from the Chicago Tribune. On April 11, 2016, he committed to play college basketball for USC over offers from UNLV, Arizona State and Florida.[4]
College career edit
Rakocevic averaged 5.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game as a freshman at USC, serving as a part-time starter.[5] On March 13, 2018, he recorded 24 points and a career-high 19 rebounds in a 103–98 double overtime win over UNC Asheville.[6] He grabbed the most rebounds by a USC player in a game since David Bluthenthal in 2000. As a sophomore, Rakocevic averaged 8.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, shooting 62.7 percent, the second-highest field goal percentage in program history.[7] In his junior season, he averaged 14.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Rakocevic was a two-time Pac-12 Player of the Week and was named All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention.[8] On November 12, 2019, he tied his career-high of 27 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and reached 1,000 career points, in an 84–66 victory over South Dakota State.[9] As a senior, Rakocevic averaged 10.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.[10]
Professional career edit
On September 16, 2020, Rakocevic signed his first professional contract with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).[11]
In August 2022, he signed with the Magnolia Hotshots of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) as the team's import for the 2022–23 PBA Commissioner's Cup.[12]
National team career edit
Rakocevic played for the Serbia under-20 national team at the 2017 FIBA U20 European Championship in Greece. He averaged 6.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, helping his team finish in fifth place.[13]
Career statistics edit
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College edit
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | USC | 36 | 8 | 14.9 | .563 | – | .671 | 3.7 | .4 | .3 | .6 | 5.2 |
| 2017–18 | USC | 36 | 22 | 21.1 | .627 | – | .548 | 6.2 | .5 | .7 | .5 | 8.1 |
| 2018–19 | USC | 33 | 30 | 30.0 | .548 | .000 | .679 | 9.3 | 1.3 | .8 | 1.4 | 14.7 |
| 2019–20 | USC | 31 | 29 | 27.3 | .458 | .429 | .634 | 8.3 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 10.5 |
| Career | 136 | 89 | 23.1 | .540 | .360 | .643 | 6.8 | .9 | .7 | .9 | 9.5 | |
References edit
- ^ Helfgot, Mike (December 17, 2015). "Boys hoops: Nick Rakocevic maturing into leader for St. Joseph". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ Kaufman, Joey (February 22, 2018). "The ebullience of Nick Rakocevic helps push USC basketball to new heights". Orange County Register. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ Narang, Bob (March 31, 2016). "All-area boys basketball first team: Nick Rakocevic". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ Mayor, Rich (April 11, 2016). "Basketball: St. Joseph center Nick Rakocevic commits to USC". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ Gonzales, Mark (January 10, 2017). "St. Joseph alum Nick Rakocevic comfortable with role at USC". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ "USC Holds Off UNC Asheville in 2OT, 103-98". USC Athletics. March 13, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ "Nick Rakocevic". USC Athletics. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ Spratling, Shotgun (October 8, 2019). "USC's Nick Rakocevic has expanded his game in new ways". 247Sports. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ "Nick Rakocevic, Jonah Mathews Reach 1,000 Career Points as USC Handles South Dakota State, 84-66". USC Athletics. Associated Press. November 12, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ "Nick Rakocevic College Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ "Zhejiang Chouzhou signs rookie Nick Rakocevic". Eurobasket.com. September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ "Magnolia bringing in former Serbia U20 player Nick Rakocevic as import". Spin.ph. August 25, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
- ^ "Nikola Rakocevic's profile – 2017 FIBA U20 European Championship". FIBA. Retrieved September 26, 2020.