In these troubling times when many of us are working from home with slow computers that we would like to toss out a window, the only thing rarer than finding some toilet paper on a supermarket shelf is finding a handy-dandy IT person to save the day. In the case of the Mercer basketball team they can turn to SR G Djordje Dimitrijevic, who has a 3.87 GPA while getting his degree in computer science. He started his college career at Western Nebraska Community College and is finishing it with the Bears, where his team won 11 of its final 14 regular season games before losing to Western Carolina in the SoCon tourney. Earlier this week HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Djordje about scoring 34 PTS in a game last January and the impact of the coronavirus on college basketball.
You were born in Serbia: how did you 1st get into basketball? Basketball is big in Serbia. I had some friends who played the sport when I was a kid and after I got interested in it I told my dad that I wanted to play basketball.
You began your college career at Western Nebraska Community College: what made you eventually choose Mercer? When I took my official visit to Mercer I realized all of the great opportunities here: a nice community, a team that has experience with international players on its roster, etc. It was an easy decision for me because it would give me room to grow.
You finished your JUCO career with 89 FT%/44.7 3P%: what is the secret to being a great shooter? You can be as talented as you want but you still need to consistently spend time in the gym shooting all of the time. Confidence is also important.
You played in all 31 games during your 1st year in Macon: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? My work ethic and the way I fought allowed me to make an impact. Even if it was not playing time I wanted to have an impact on the culture, which goes back to my decision to come here.
How easy/difficult was the coaching transition from Bob Hoffman last year to Greg Gary this year? Coach Gary’s style is more similar to that of my JUCO team so it was an easy transition for me.
In early-January you scored a career-high 34 PTS/10-19 FG in 37 minutes in an 8-PT loss at Western Carolina: was it just 1 of those situations where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? I was not really focused on my scoring: I was locked in and my shots were falling but I was just playing the game.
In late-January you scored a game-high 18 PTS while becoming 1 of 4 teams to beat East Tennessee State this season: how did you pull off the upset, and do you think that the Buccaneers were good enough to win a game in the NCAA tourney? That was a great game for us. Our defense was the most important factor: when we are physical we win games. We knew that we had nothing to lose and played very freely while sharing the ball. I think that ETSU is a great team and could definitely have won 1-2 games in the NCAA tourney.
Last week you were named an Academic All-American: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? I do not focus on balancing the 2 things: I just try to do everything on time and stay on top of my schoolwork. My professors are always flexible, which helps a lot.
You have a 3.87 GPA while working on your degree in computer science: why did you choose that subject, and what is the post-graduation plan? I chose computer science because I have always been interested in computers since I was a young kid. I focused more on sports as I got older but after coming to the US I had to pick a major and thought that IT was a field that was constantly developing. I would like to keep playing basketball after graduation.
Any thoughts on the impact of the coronavirus on college basketball this month? Everybody needs to stay safe and follow the rules. I know it is a hard time for everybody with classes being canceled and people not being able to travel abroad but we have to be patient and trust the people in charge.