Five Questions With Luka Bogavac: Same Approach, Improving Results

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Luka Bogavac offered another solid outing Monday night against Syracuse. He contributed 10 points off the Tar Heel bench, shooting an efficient 4-of-6 from the field, while going 1-for-1 from both beyond the arc and the free throw line. 

Monday’s contest was his third in a row scoring in double figures, and his fourth in the last six games. Bogavac is shooting 14-of-23 (60.9 percent) from the field in his last three games, and 7-for-13 (53.8 percent) from deep. 

Here are five questions with Bogavac after North Carolina’s win over Syracuse… 

What have you had to adjust to throughout the course of the season playing in America that has let you get more comfortable? 

Bogavac: “The main thing is just trying to learn my teammates on the court — what they like and what they don’t like, so that’s been the main thing.” 

You’ve scored a lot more consistently and efficiently over the last five games, does your shot feel better? 

Bogavac: “Yes, for sure. If you watch the games, you can see my shot has been better over the last couple games. But as I’ve said before, I’m practicing the same way as I have since I got here so nothing has really changed with my approach.”

What do you think was the difference at the end when Syracuse was able to go on its run? 

Luka Bogavac: “We were relaxed I think in the last 10 minutes. We just put ourselves in a bad position, we thought that we were good and we didn’t have to fight. So after that, they made a stretch and we have to learn from this.”

Do you think it’s good to have this on film as proof of what can happen when the mentality slips? 

Bogavac: “Yeah, we have to learn to react faster when we miss a couple shots and give up a couple of baskets. I think we took a lot of time to react and we should be faster to react, so this is really key for us in the coming games.” 

Coming from Montenegro, how much do you know about the UNC-Duke rivalry, and what are your thoughts going into Saturday? 

Bogavac: “I knew about it. It’s maybe the biggest game in United States college basketball, for sure, so knew about North Carolina and Duke for sure.”