The Arizona State Sun Devils received a commitment from Serbian big man Filip Malesevic on Thursday, and this pickup signals big things for Randy Bennett around the rim.
The 20-year-old is listed as tall as 7-foot-4 across multiple sites, including 7-foot-3 through Basketball Reference’s international database. Simply put, this is a big dude.
In one season with KK FMP of the ABA League, Malesevic fetched 2.8 rebounds and added 2.2 points in 10.4 minutes per game as a rookie this season. He’ll arguably become the tallest player to join the Big 12 next season, and could wreak havoc for the Sun Devils.
Malesevic is the fourth committed big man in Bennett’s inaugural season with the team, and brings tremendous upside as a young, high-upside player who’ll compete with Boston University transfer Ben Defty for time at the five.
It wouldn’t be the first Big 12 success story out of Northern Europe, either.
Motiejus Krivas, a 7-foot-2 center out of Siaulia, Lithuania, is poised for a big senior season after averaging 10.4 points per game as a junior. Krivas has flourished through Tommy Lloyd’s system, and the same arc could rest in store for Malesevic.
