Stefanovic Signs Letter of Intent to Join Boilermakers
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue men’s basketball head coach Matt Painter has announced that Sasha Stefanovic has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Boilermaker program for the 2017-18 season.
Stefanovic is the fifth member of Purdue’s 2017 class, joining guard Nojel Eastern (Evanston, Illinois), forwards Aaron Wheeler (Stamford, Conn.) and Eden Ewing (Richmond, Texas) and center Matt Haarms (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), all of whom signed in the fall. Haarms enrolled at Purdue for the spring semester, taking his redshirt year.
“We have had a goal of recruiting an outstanding shooter in every class and we continued to do that by signing Sasha,” Painter said. “This past year, his game evolved into more than that and he has become a much more complete and developed player. Sasha really knows how to play. He has great size and potential in our system. We are excited about him joining our program.”
Purdue’s class is currently ranked No. 23 nationally by 247Sports.com and 39th by ESPN.com.
SASHA STEFANOVIC / 6-5 / 190 / Crown Point, Indiana / Crown Point High School
- A four-year letterwinner at Crown Point High School, Stefanovic is a skilled and crafty guard that will fill out this recruiting class nicely.
- Averaged 20.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game at Crown Point as a senior, leading the Bulldogs to a 22-4 record and their first league time since 1999.
- Was a Supreme 15 All-State honoree, as well as AP third-team All-State, the Post-Tribune and Northwest Indiana Times Player of the Year, the conference MVP and team MVP.
- Became Crown Point’s all-time leading scorer (1,385 points) this past season.
- Named an Indiana All-Star following his senior campaign.
- Led team to a pair of sectional championships (2015, 2016) and a Duneland Athletic Conference title (2017).
- Averaged 15.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game as a junior, being named an Indiana All-Star and Duneland Athletic Conference MVP.
- Averaged 12.3 points, 4.4 rebound and 3.5 assists as a sophomore, earning NWIndiana Times all-area accolades.
- One of the best shooters in the state, he fills the role of Coach Painter wanting a shooter in every class.
- Dream school has long been Purdue, receiving an offer on Feb. 2. Chose the Boilermakers thanks to a “great coaching staff, terrific competition and the proximity to Crown Point”.
- Played on the Eric Gorden All-Stars in AAU competition.
- Coached by Clint Swan at Crown Point.
- Teammate of Indiana’s Grant Gelon (freshman this year).
- Was a member of National Honor Society while at Crown Point.
- Son of Lou and Helen Stefanovic.
- Father, Lou, played at Illinois State from 1982-85 and was a second-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honoree as a senior, averaging 17.5 points per game. He was selected in the fifth round of the 1985 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics.
- Brother, Dejan, attends Purdue and is set to graduate this spring.
- Enjoys playing golf and ping pong.
