Nemanja Đurišić (born February 23, 1992) is a Montenegrin professional basketball player for BC Nizhny Novgorod of the VTB United League. Đurišić is also currently a member of the Montenegrin national team and during his college years he played for the University of Georgia in the United States. He can play both small or power forward position. He is one of the few players from Montenegro who completed all 4 years of basketball scholarship at a university in the United States.
 | |
| No. 42 – BC Nizhny Novgorod | |
|---|---|
| Position | Forward |
| League | VTB United League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | February 23, 1992 Titograd, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Nationality | Montenegrin |
| Listed height | 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) |
| Listed weight | 100 kg (220 lb) |
| Career information | |
| High school | South Kent School (South Kent, Connecticut) |
| College | Georgia (2011–2015) |
| NBA draft | 2015: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2015–present |
| Career history | |
| 2015–2017 | Zielona Góra |
| 2017–2018 | Bonn |
| 2018–2019 | Oostende |
| 2019–2020 | Beşiktaş |
| 2020–2022 | Estudiantes |
| 2022–2024 | Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski |
| 2024–present | BC Nizhny Novgorod |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Early life
editĐurišić grew up in the neighborhood of Stari Aerodrom, Titograd, and started playing basketball at age of 12, for the local basketball club Sinalco. He was persuaded to start playing basketball by his brother Boris. His childhood basketball idol was Vlade Divac and as a kid he loved watching Yugoslavian national basketball team, who were a powerhouse during the 1990s and early 2000s. After taking his first basketball steps in Sinalco, Đurišić joined the youth academy of KK Budućnost Podgorica, where he gained an audience with several scouts.[1]
High school
editAfter completing first 2 years of high school in Podgorica Đurišić got an offer to finish his high school overseas, in South Kent School, and be part of their basketball team. Despite his lack of knowledge in English language at the time he managed to prove himself well both as a basketball player and as a student, which led to him deciding to pursue basketball scholarship at a college in the US. In two seasons for South Kent Đurišić averaged 20.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. During his high school years Đurišić also made appearances for Montenegrin national basketball team at FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship.
College career
editFreshman year
editIn 2011 Đurišić enrolled at the University of Georgia and was immediately recognized as skillful basketball player by the coaching staff. In his freshman year for the Bulldogs Đurišić started 12 games at the power forward position, including four of the last five games of the season.
Sophomore year
editIn 2011–12 season Đurišić had team's only double-double of the season in an SEC Tourney win over Miss. State. During his sophomore year Đurišić gained more playing minutes and had a career-high 21 points against Florida A&M.
Junior year
editIn 2013–14 Đurišić had a breakthrough year and was a key player from the bench for the Bulldogs. During junior year he was the team's best 3-point shooter, in terms of percentage. He set a new career-high, with 22 points in a win against South Carolina.
Senior year
editDuring his senior year Đurišić became one of team's top players and a regular starter. In a game against Tennessee, he became the 44th player in UGA history to reach 1,000 career points. Đurišić scored 35 points in two games vs. #1-ranked Kentucky, including a team-high 18 at home against the Wildcats. He nearly had a triple-double in Georgia's win over Fla. Atlantic, with 8 pts., 10 rebs., and a career-best 8 assists (no UGA player has ever recorded a triple-double). Đurišić is one of just 19 players in UGA history to score 1,000 points and pull down 500 rebounds.[2]
College statistics
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | Georgia | 32 | 12 | 19.8 | .405 | .364 | .659 | 4.2 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 7.0 |
| 2012–13 | Georgia | 32 | 10 | 24.4 | .395 | .317 | .747 | 4.3 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 7.9 |
| 2013–14 | Georgia | 34 | 3 | 22.9 | .482 | .432 | .684 | 4.0 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 8.4 |
| 2014–15 | Georgia | 33 | 32 | 30.0 | .468 | .340 | .704 | 5.2 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 11.0 |
| Career[3] | 131 | 57 | 24.3 | .438 | .363 | .702 | 4.4 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 8.6 | |
Professional career
editStelmet Zielona Góra
editIn August 2015 Đurišić signed a one-year contract with Stelmet Zielona Góra. He averaged 5.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in EuroLeague. In July 2016 Đurišić re-signed with the team for one more year. [4] [5]
Filou Oostende
editAfter a season with Telekom Baskets Bonn in Germany, he signed with Filou Oostende for the 2018–19 season.[6]
Beşiktaş Sompo Japan
editOn July 12, 2019, he signed with Beşiktaş Sompo Japan of the BSL.[7] He averaged 10 points and 4 rebounds per game.[8]
Estudiantes
editOn July 28, 2020, he signed with Movistar Estudiantes of the Liga ACB.[8]
Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski
editOn August 11, 2022, he signed with Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski of the Polish Basketball League (PLK).[9]
International career
editIn September 2016 Durišić helped Montenegro's basketball team reach EuroBasket 2017, through qualifiers, averaging 9.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He scored a game-high 17 points in Montenegro's only loss of the qualifiers, against Georgia.[10]
Personal life
editĐurišić majored in International relations and affairs at UGA. His parents, Snežana and Ranko Đurišić, both from Montenegro, took part in their first-ever UGA game on February 28, 2015, on the occasion of their first visit to the US, participating in the Senior Day recognition before the Kentucky game on March 3, 2015.
In June 2020, he married Miss Turkey 2013 contestant Ezgi Avcı.[11]
References
edit- ^ "kosarka.me - Nemanja Đurišić: Crnogorski biser sa Univerziteta Džordžia". kosarka.me. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ "Nemanja Đurisic Bio - Men's Basketball - GEORGIADOGS.COM - University of University of Georgia Official Athletic Site". georgiadogs.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ Nemanja Djurisic, Retrieved September 21, 2016.
- ^ "DJURISIC, NEMANJA - Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL". euroleague.net. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ "kosarka.me - Zielona Gora angažovala Đurišića". kosarka.me. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ "Basketkampioen Oostende haalt Montenegrijns international Djurisic". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). August 22, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ "Besiktas signs Nemanja Djurisic". Sportando. July 12, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
- ^ a b "Nemanja Djurisic joins Estudiantes". Sportando. July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- ^ "Djurisić wraca do EBL! Podpisał umowę w Ostrowie Wielkopolskim". plk.pl (in Polish). August 11, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
- ^ "FIBA EuroBasket 2017 - FIBA.com". fiba.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ "Ezgi Avcı ve basketbolcu Nemanja Djurisic evlendi". Hürriyet (in Turkish). June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.