UNC Still Waiting for Luka Bogavac with Season Opener Drawing Closer

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina’s waiting game for Luka Bogavac continues on, with the Tar Heels inside of a week to the start of the new college basketball season.

>>> Welcome to the new home of Inside Carolina! Reactivate your account for $1 <<<

The international import won’t be in uniform for UNC’s exhibition game tonight against Division II program Winston-Salem State here at the Smith Center, marking the second preseason tune-up Bogavac has missed with his playing eligibility status stuck in limbo. Five nights ago in Salt Lake City, he was with the Tar Heels, but sat out their exhibition loss to BYU.

Now, Carolina is five nights shy of its Nov. 3 season opener against Central Arkansas. The 6-foot-6 guard Bogavac has gained NCAA clearance to play college basketball during the approaching 2025-26 campaign, certification from the governing body which coach Hubert Davis confirmed last week. But while Bogavac practices with the team, his playing status has lingered on hold, pending full resolution from UNC.

What has remained are internal institutional checkpoints for UNC to complete related to Bogavac’s transcript, program sources have said, before he can be given the go-ahead to take the court as a member of the Tar Heels. While his admittance to UNC as a student occurred months prior, and he has been enrolled in classes since the fall semester began in mid-August, the school’s determining of his playing status ultimately has made for another separate step in the eligibility process, program sources have said.

“Hopeful this week,” a program source told Inside Carolina, when asked about the timeline parameters in play as UNC works toward a full resolution, while opening night and the start of the regular season draws nearer.

And how realistic is that? “It’s a legitimate hope,” another source told IC.

“We’re making progress,” a program source told IC last week, when UNC was in Salt Lake City to play the exhibition game against BYU. Bogavac wasn’t in uniform that night and looked on from the Tar Heels’ bench during their 78-76 loss at the Delta Center.

Bogavac is the newest addition among the 10 newcomers on UNC’s overhauled roster. He arrived on campus more than two months ago, after playing professionally for European club teams in Serbia and Montenegro. Bogavac spent the last two seasons in the Adriatic Basketball Association (ABA League) with the SC Derby club in his native Montenegro.

Bogavac turned 22 years old last month. After finishing high school, he took college courses for two years while overseas, a situation that became a complicating factor in his playing eligibility status at UNC, sources have said.

Last week, Davis said Bogavac “possibly” could play in the exhibition game against BYU. A school official said then that the UNC athletic department and university were working to finalize the process, but there remained no timetable for completion.

“From an NCAA standpoint, yes,” Davis said last week, when asked if Bogavac had gained clearance to play for the Tar Heels. “Institutionally-wise, we’re working on it, and we’re making progress.”

Bogavac committed to Carolina on May 31, cleared UNC admissions in early July, and was granted a student visa in August, after interviewing with U.S. embassy officials in Montenegro. He’s coming off the best pro season of his young career, during which he scored nearly 15 points per game. And he has picked up plenty of international experience while competing in a number of FIBA championships and qualifying tournaments for Montenegrin national teams.

He supplied 14.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game last season for SC Derby in the ABA, while shooting 45.1 percent from the field, including 39.9 percent from 3-point range. He sank 87 percent on free throws. He delivered 19 points or more in eight of his final 15 ABA games, including a season-high 27 points (fueled by five successful 3-pointers) and 24 points (on the strength of a season-best seven 3s). Earlier this month, he scored 14 points in UNC’s Blue-White scrimmage game.

“He’s been great getting to know and also coaching him,” Davis said recently. “He’s been fantastic in the classroom and also on the court. As a player, he’s somebody who can do a number of different things on both ends of the floor. He’s got great size, can handle it, and make plays with the ball in his hand. Can shoot, score on many different levels, mid-range, get to the bucket, excellent passer, and somebody who had a burning desire to be here and to be a part of this program. And as soon as he walks into a room, it just brightens up. He just has that type of personality I’ve really enjoyed being around.”

Bogavac is the son of an accomplished basketball father, too, in addition to his own professional background. His dad, Nebojša Bogavac, played professionally in Europe for 13 seasons and has worked in coaching since 2012. He’s currently an assistant coach for the French club Metropolitans 92 in Paris.

Several of Luka Bogavac’s former teammates from the SC Derby club are embarking on their own NCAA basketball journeys this season, including David Mirkovic (at Illinois), Andrija Grbović (Arizona State) and Vladimir Sudar (Pepperdine). Illinois twin towers Tomislav Ivisic and Zvonimir Ivisic are recent alums of SC Derby and the ABA.

Earlier this week, Illinois on Monday cleared Serbian guard Mihailo Petrovic to play this basketball season. Like UNC’s Bogavac, Petrovic, also is a 22-year-old product of the ABA League. He has been classified as a sophomore at Illinois with three seasons of college playing eligibility.