Luka Bogavac Arrives at UNC, Begins Tar Heel Career

Luka Bogavac arrived in Chapel Hill on Wednesday to enroll at UNC, the school confirmed, three months after signing to play for the Tar Heels.

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The 6-foot-5, 200-pound guard from Montenegro joins the Tar Heel program after four professional seasons in ABA Liga (the Adriatic Basketball Association) for the SC Derby club based out of Podgorica, Montenegro.

Bogavac committed to UNC on May 31 and began the checklist of steps necessary to play at the school. Inside Carolina reported that he cleared UNC admissions in early July and Inside Carolina confirmed he was granted his student visa earlier this month following an interview with officials at the US embassy in Montenegro. The final step for Bogavac to be able to play college basketball games will be receiving NCAA clearance, but he’s able to enroll and participate in team activities while awaiting that clearance.

“I hadn’t considered college as an option — during the season, a serious offer and great interest appeared,” Bogavac told reporter Savo Njunjić of Vjiesti this summer (in Montenegrin, translated to English). “Knowing that North Carolina is the cradle of NCAA basketball and one of the most prestigious universities, I couldn’t refuse the offer when it arrived. There was interest from other colleges, but when the offer from North Carolina arrived, I knew that this was it.”

Bogavac is coming off his best pro season to date, averaging 14.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game in 2024-25, with shooting splits of 45.1% FG, 39.9% 3pt, 87% FT. He scored 19 or more points in eight of his final 15 ABA games, including a season-high 27 points (with five threes) on April 25, and 24 points (with a season-high seven made threes) on March 30. 

“North Carolina fans can expect a temperamental and characterful player, I will try to give 100 percent,” Bogavac said in the translated Vjiesti interview. “I have great energy, character. I know that the expectations are high and I will try to justify them. I like to be a man of decisions, I like to take the initiative. I like to ask questions, to make decisions. I know where I come from, that it is the University with the largest fan base in America. I will make sure that the team achieves as many victories as possible and goes to the very top.”

Current UNC assistant coach Marcus Paige, a former Tar Heel All-American, has experience in the ABA. He played for the Partizan club (out of Serbia) in the ABA from 2018-21, averaging 12.3 points and 4.4 assists in his first season.

Bogavac has also represented Montenegro in international play. He competed in the FIBA U20 European Championship in 2022 and 2023, and was a member of the senior Montenegrin national team in the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament and the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket Qualifiers.

Bogavac is one of 10 new Tar Heel players joining the 2025-26 roster as part of head coach Hubert Davis and general manager Jim Tanner’s offseason overhaul. The Carolina team will begin preseason practice next month, and its first game action will be an exhibition vs. BYU in Salt Lake City, Utah on Oct. 24.