Creighton scored a late-summer recruiting win on Thursday, signing three-point sharpshooter Fedor Žugić from Podgorica, Montenegro. It’s been a badly kept secret for awhile; when he opted out of his contract in the BBL (Bundesliga Basketball League, the top professional league in Germany) in late July, it was widely reported by the German basketball press that he was headed to Creighton.
Žugić will turn 21 before the season begins this fall, and has been a professional in Europe since he was 15. He was the youngest player to ever compete in the EuroLeague, and has five years of experience against high-level competition in both the pro and EuroCup ranks. Eligibility negotiations with the NCAA are the likely reason for the long delay in officially announcing him as a Bluejay, but with that announcement, presumably everything has been ironed out.
So what kind of player is CU adding? Žugić averaged just under 11 points per game in the Bundesliga, and proved to be one of the best shooters in Europe (hitting 36% of his threes a year ago). He’s not great at creating his own shot off the dribble, but reports (and video) say he’s great at hitting shots generated via ball screens and offensive movement. In other words, precisely the kind of offense Creighton runs for their guards to get open looks. And he’s a solid playmaker, with a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio where he’s showed smart decision making in the pick-and-roll — again, something Creighton runs a lot of.
This thread on X is from 2022, but does a great job of breaking down his game in detail with video clips to illustrate the scouting report.
“I’m excited to have Fedor at Creighton,” Greg McDermott said in a statement released via GoCreighton.com. “He brings a level of talent and enthusiasm that will help us succeed.”
You don’t often see teams add impact players in late August, but there also aren’t often players the caliber of Žugić still available. While some German hoops writers have said they expect Žugić to slot into CU’s starting lineup immediately, that might be premature; there’s a lot of talent on the roster already, especially at the guard spots, and Žugić’s defensive shortcomings could hinder his minutes early on. But he was a rotational player in one of Europe’s top leagues; at 21 years old he’s not leaving that behind if he believed he was only going to play 5-10 minutes off the bench for an American college team. Žugić is coming to Creighton to be a key piece, and showcase himself for NBA scouts.
CU’s backcourt features returning point guard Steven Ashworth, Texas Tech transfer Pop Isaacs, and three freshmen (Larry Johnson, Ty Davis and Sterling Knox) expected to make contributions. Žugić’s size will help — at 6’6”, he occasionally slid to the ‘3’ spot in Europe and could play small forward for the Jays at times, too.