SCACCHoops: Say hello to NC State’s newest basketball recruit

Basketball Recruiting19

Over the last few days, members of our message forums have opened two different threads asking about Josip Mikulic. (You can click here to view both threads.)

Josip Mikulic, from Croatia, is a 6-10 forward in the European mold of having three-point range and an ability to handle the ball with a little more effectiveness than some big men. He has joined Tyler Lewis as a member of NC State’s 2012 recruiting class after committing to the Wolfpack earlier in the week.

Link

North Broward (Fla.) Prep coach Scott Williams said 6-foot-10 Josip Mikulic reminds N.C. State assistant coach Monte Towe of Dwayne Schintzius, a 7-footer who played for Towe and Norm Sloan at Florida in the 1980s and later in the NBA.

Mikulic, a current high school junior who is originally from Croatia, has committed to N.C. State, Williams said.

“He’s an extremely good shooter,” Williams said. “He has NBA range and is very fundamentally sound for a big kid. He’s a good, quality basketball player.”

Williams said growing up overseas, where players are known for developing their perimeter skills, helped Mikulic hone a good 3-point stroke. Mikulic also had a late growth spurt.

“Up until two or three years ago he was a guard,” Williams said. “He was 6-2, 6-3. He was a perimeter player, and he grew into that body.”

Additionally:

According to this item, Mikulic is among the top 30 high school prospects in Florida. The two services cited rank him in the mid-to-late 20s. Hoop Scoop is more optimistic and ranks him tenth.

You can click here for more information on Mikulic.

Projected 2011-2012 NC State Basketball Roster

Senior Class
(1) CJ Williams (Wing)

Junior Class
(2) Scott Wood (Wing)
(3) Richard Howell (PF)
(4) Jordan Vandenberg (C)
(5) DeShawn Painter (PF/C)

Sophomore Class
(6) Lorenzo Brown (PG/SG)
(7) Ryan Harrow (PG)
(8) CJ Leslie (WF/PF) ?? [Speculation Leslie leaves after one year]

Freshman Class
(9) Joseph Uchebo (C)
(10) Tyler Harris (Wing)

2012 Commits
(11) Tyler Lewis
(12) Josip Mikulic
(13) Open
(1) Open – Departure of CJ Williams

2013 Commits
(2) Open – Departure of Scott Wood (Wing)
(3) Open – Departure of Richard Howell (PF)
(4) Open – Departure of Jordan Vandenberg (C)
(5) Open – Departure of DeShawn Painter (PF/C)

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Basketball Recruiting

19 Responses to SCACCHoops: Say hello to NC State’s newest basketball recruit

  1. W.I.T.H.14 02/17/2011 at 10:19 AM #

    I remember when they compared Vandenberg to a solid European style player lol.

    From ESPN: “Jordan is a legitimate 7-footer who plays the game like a European big man. He likes to step away from the basket and shoot jumpshots out to 15 feet. He displays a very nice touch on his jumper and can consistenly knock them down.”

    http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/95675/jordan-vandenberg

  2. Rochester 02/17/2011 at 10:54 AM #

    I want to get excited about recruiting, but with the pending coaching change I guess I’ll wait to see if these kids are still interested when we get a real coach.

  3. jaybird80 02/17/2011 at 11:04 AM #

    “I want to get excited about recruiting, but with the pending coaching change I guess I’ll wait to see if these kids are still interested when we get a real coach”

    Or, maybe we will no longer be interested in them due to bigger names interested in us. Though I would hope that we would still honor commitments.

  4. newt 02/17/2011 at 11:13 AM #

    Unlike football, I totally buy-in to the rankings for college basketball players, and I’m not going to get overly excited about the #10 guy in Florida. Not saying he will be bad, just saying I wouldn’t count on him being great.

  5. Wolfy__79 02/17/2011 at 11:19 AM #

    i’ve also read somewhere and thought we had a lefty small forward/guard type commit? i really like all the kids we have coming in!!

    vandenburg isn’t all bad. i’ve never seen any range with is shot but i think this is due to the style of play. sidney doesn’t like his big men taking 15 foot jump shots.. despite leslie doing so. he also doesn’t want the team shooting more than 10-12 3pt shots. i like the range i see with painter, he’s got the best 15ft shot out of all the big men.. and he’s just a sophomore.

    eek, please leslie don’t leave too early! he has alot of work to do not to ride the pine.

    with a possible-likely coaching change coming.. this is all the more reason to find a coach that can hit the ground running with the personnel we currently have.. and hopefully develop cjw a bit to make him more attractive to the nba. the roster alone get me excited, we have alot of talent now and coming in. i feel if we handle with care, we’ll solidify these recruits this fall!

    BEAT CLEMSON!

  6. Cardiac95 02/17/2011 at 11:41 AM #

    This seems like a “project/role player” type of commit at best… one that we probably could have gotten just hours before the Spring Signing period started…

    Sure would’ve been nice for the new coach to have that open ‘ship & a month to recruit…

  7. PackerInRussia 02/17/2011 at 12:33 PM #

    A few on-the-surface differences that I see between this guy and Vandenberg: He’s playing high school in the US; Vandenberg played in Australia until he came here if I’m not mistaken. Adapting to US style of play – tougher, more aggressive – is something he won’t have to do. Also, from the description, this guys sounds more like a Brackman-type player who got the guard skills down and then quickly grew into a tall person, but still maintained the ball-handling/shooting abilities (if the description is true).

  8. mwcric 02/17/2011 at 2:21 PM #

    Assuming a coaching change occurs and Towe is gone with the rest of the staff, it doesn’t seem likely Mikulic will ever wear an NCSU uniform. From what I’ve read, he committed to Towe and has yet to even visit Raleigh, so I think his loyalty may reside with the coach and not the school.

    If Leslie decides to test the waters after this season he must have the same handlers as Ced Simmons.

  9. sbas2 02/17/2011 at 2:33 PM #

    point guard Tyler Lewis is the one State needs to keep if Lowe departs. Lewis, a junior, is a 2012 four star player, number 69 overall, number 8 at his position and a scout’s grade of 92 (taken from espn).

  10. PoppaJohn 02/17/2011 at 3:10 PM #

    I think we need to let ‘Coach Newguy’ burns these scholarships. Chances are he won’t bring anyone in 2011, so 2012 is our first chance to see him recruit for the Pack. Happy to see them looking ahead, but this guy doesn’t look like a prize to me.

    Beat Clemson!!!

  11. nocard 02/17/2011 at 4:48 PM #

    Guys. This was a *planned* signing. Something coming in that is *good news* and may help keep the current staff in place. This kid knows that if the staff goes, this offer will be pulled. It is a win-win for both parties however. If current coaches leave, he has the street cred of being recruited and offered by a D-1 ACC school. That would be huge for him. If this signing helps keep the staff on for 1 more year,…well you get the picture.

  12. nocard 02/17/2011 at 4:51 PM #

    and by the way….. I think Sidney should be given another year. I also think there is no way that he would burn an offer slot with a total project.

    LET SIDNEY STAY.

    Go Pack.

  13. packpowerfan 02/17/2011 at 6:06 PM #

    nocard,

    Javi Gonzalez (3-star, No. 14 in Fla.) says hello.

  14. tuckerdorm1983 02/17/2011 at 6:26 PM #

    why not another year? might as well. It couldn’t hurt.

  15. 61Packer 02/17/2011 at 7:42 PM #

    It’s 7:00, and here we go. Just you watch State come out like gangbusters and cream Clemson, and go on to be worldbeaters the rest of the season in a desperate attempt to save the coach’s hide.

    For all of you who think Low should have one more year, UNC and Duke fans will embrace you.

  16. JSRy2k 02/18/2011 at 3:19 AM #

    @61Packer:
    I feel where you’re coming from. It’s a sick position that a potential coaching change puts us in. Once we think we see the handwriting on the wall, we are prone to root against our own team for the sake of fulfilling what we believe should happen.

    Part of me wants to root against us (because I strongly doubt Lowe’s coaching ability), but then I see the wisdom of those who argue for delayed judgement until season’s end. My gut tells me these young kids need to win as many games as they can NOW, for their own confidence’s sake and for the sake of whoever our coach is next year. Let the chips fall where they may – and let Yow judge accordingly – and in the meantime I would propose that rooting for our team in season is a healthy thing to do, regardless of what we think of the current coach.

  17. nocard 02/18/2011 at 8:01 AM #

    JSRy2k…. Yes, and all of the church said AMEN!

  18. tann84 02/18/2011 at 4:54 PM #

    I read a lot of comments on here and it just seems that everyone is ready to get rid of lowe. I know this year hasn’t gone as expected but it is a young team.

    I don’t think a new coach is the solution, yet. The only way I go for a new coach is if Rick Barnes knock on the door – thats what it would take. Otherwise I’d rather give Lowe 2 more years to see what he can do when the Frosh are Juniors and the Soph are seniors…. even without CJL. If torian graham and TJ Warren come to state, the 2012 roster will be the best NC State has had in over 20 years. That is when the team should be good. History has shown that, most teams that win the NCAA title are teams who have several juniors and seniors on the roster and contributing. We have 1 senior this year who is averaging double digit points and no juniors. I want to see 2012, when Harrow, Brown are in their junior year and howell, wood, and painter are in their senior year. Thats a team that can do damage. I’ll take that over than another 5 years to allow a new coach to get the recruiting up and implement his players and system and the possibility that harrow or brown might not want to play for a new coach and leave early.

    Like I said unless its someone who knows the area for recruiting, has a proven winning record against top D1A teams, and can keep the current team together and recruting then I’m not getting rid of lowe just yet. But I’m sure DY is putting feelers out to see if we could get Rich Barnes here (or someone similiar) if you can’t then there is no need for another project.

  19. camel77 02/18/2011 at 9:20 PM #

    Tann84

    I agree with what you are saying. Very rarely do you get Freshmen to come in and lead the team to an exceptional season. They have growing pains to go through and have to get use to the faster pace of the college game. If you have a Freshmen to play an important role, he usually has upperclassman help. We are talking about three freshmen that is over forty percent of our team scoring. It would be nice to see what NC State could do with what we have coming back and next year class coming in. I feel like we will lose the freshmen if we fire Sidney now because they are at NC State because of him.

    With one more year and success next year, we will have our foot in the front door with the recruits of 2012 some of them highly rated. With a coaching change, we will have to start all over.

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