Nemanja Đurišić (born February 23, 1992) is a Montenegrin professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
Polish Basketball League
Polska Liga Koszykówki (PLK) (English language, English: Polish Basketball League) is a professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Poland. It constitutes the first and highest-tier level of the Polish basketball leag ...
(PLK). Đurišić is also currently a member of
Montenegrin national basketball team
The Montenegro men's national basketball team ( cnr, Кошаркашка репрезентација Црне Горе, Košarkaška reprezentacija Crne Gore) represents Montenegro in international basketball tournaments. The supervising body ...
and during his college years he played for the basketball team at
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
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 the university in the United States.
Early life
Đurišić grew up in the neighborhood of
Stari Aerodrom
Stari Aerodrom ( cnr, Стари аеродром) is a neighbourhood in the city of Podgorica that borders the neighborhoods of Ribnica, Vrela Ribnička, Drač and Tuški put. The neighbourhood is located beside an old military airport, Ćem ...
, Podgorica, 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
Vlade Divac ( sr-Cyrl, Владе Дивац, ; born February 3, 1968) is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player who was most recently the vice president of basketball operations and general manager of the Sacramento Kings ...
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
KK, K.K., kK, k.k., or other sequences of two k's with or without punctuation may refer to:
Arts and media
*KK, the production code for the 1967 ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Faceless Ones''
* "KK" (song), a 2014 song by Wiz Khalifa
* Kk. or Kirk ...
, where he gained an audience with several scouts.
High school
After completing first 2 years of high school in Podgorica Đurišić got an offer to finish his high school overseas, in
South Kent School
South Kent School, a private all-boys boarding school in South Kent, Connecticut, United States, is located on a campus in western Litchfield County. It is sited on Spooner Hill east of Bull's Bridge, overlooking the former Housatonic Valley ra ...
, 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
The FIBA U18 European Championship, originally known as the European Championship for Juniors, is a youth men's basketball competition that was inaugurated with the 1964 edition. It was held biennially through the 2002 edition. From the 2004 e ...
.
College career
Freshman year
In 2011 Đurišić enrolled at the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
and was immediately recognized as skillful basketball player by the coaching staff. In his freshman year for the
Bulldogs
The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Miss. State. During his sophomore year Đurišić gained more playing minutes and had scores a career-high 21 points against
Florida A&M
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...
.
Junior year
In 2013–14 Đurišić had a breakthrough year and was a key player from the bench for the Bulldogs. During junior year he was 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
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
.
Senior year
During his senior year Đurišić became one of team's top players and a regular starter. In a game against
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, 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
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
, including 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.
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
In 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.
Filou Oostende
After a season with
Telekom Baskets Bonn
Telekom Baskets Bonn, also known as Baskets Bonn, is a German professional basketball club that is based in Bonn, Germany. The club plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, which is German basketball league system, the highest level pro basketball le ...
in Germany, he signed with
Filou Oostende
Basketball Club Oostende, for sponsorship reasons Filou Oostende, is a Belgian professional basketball team. The club is based in Ostend and was founded in 1970. The club competes domestically in the BNXT League and internationally in the Baske ...
for the 2018–19 season.
Beşiktaş Sompo Japan
On July 12, 2019, he has signed contract with
Beşiktaş Sompo Japan
Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, a ...
of the BSL. He averaged 10 points and 4 rebounds per game.
Liga ACB
The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...
Polish Basketball League
Polska Liga Koszykówki (PLK) (English language, English: Polish Basketball League) is a professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Poland. It constitutes the first and highest-tier level of the Polish basketball leag ...
(PLK).
International career
In September 2016 Durišić helped Montenegro's basketball team reach
EuroBasket 2017
EuroBasket 2017 was the 40th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe and held between 31 August and 17 September 2017. Beginning from 2017, the continental championships take place every four years with a similar ...
, 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
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
.
Personal life
Đurišić 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 and participated as well in the Senior Day recognition before Kentucky game on March 3, 2015.
In June 2020, he married
Miss Turkey
Miss Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Güzellik Kraliçesi) is a national beauty pageant in Turkey. The pageant was founded in 1929, where the winners titled as Miss Turkey Universe, Miss Turkey World and Miss Turkey Supranational.
History
Miss Turk ...