Filip Petrušev ( sr-cyr, Филип Петрушев; born April 15, 2000) is a Serbian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for Crvena zvezda of the

Adriatic League The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the 1st-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Mac ...

and the EuroLeague. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Gonzaga Bulldogs The Gonzaga Bulldogs () (also known unofficially as the Zags) are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Gonzaga competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...

. Listed at and , he plays the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

positions.

Early career in Europe and U.S. high schools

Petrušev was born in Belgrade,

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

FR Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

Youth basketball in Serbia

He started to play basketball for

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...

s of Serbian powerhouses Crvena zvezda and

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: ** AK Partizan, athletics **Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling **Džudo Klub Partizan, judo ** FK Partizan, association fo ...

Saski Baskonia youth system

In 2014, Petrušev, already over 2.00 meters in height, who had just completed the seventh grade of primary school in Serbia, signed for the youth system of Spanish club

Saski Baskonia Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia, S.A.D., commonly known as Saski Baskonia (), also known as Cazoo Baskonia for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the ...

(Laboral Kutxa). Moving away from home to

Vitoria-Gasteiz es, vitoriano, vitoriana, , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = Spanish, Basque , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in the Basque Country, the fourteen-year-old began living a structured life within the club's youth system: residing with other youth team foreign players in a club-provided house with a cook, attending school classes in the morning, and participating in basketball training sessions in the afternoon. In accordance with the club's training methods, in addition to team practices, he spent a lot of time on daily individual work—honing footwork in the

post Post or POST commonly refers to: *Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal service **Iraqi Post, Ira ...

and practicing the

hook shot In basketball, a hook shot is a play in which the offensive player, usually turned perpendicular to the basket, gently throws the ball with a sweeping motion of the arm farther from the basket in an upward arc with a follow-through which ends ov ...

—with coach . In summer 2015, the youngster was picked by coach Vladimir Đokić for the Serbia under-16 national team ahead of the

2015 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship The 2015 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship was the 29th edition of the European Under-16 Basketball Championship. 16 teams participated in the competition, held in Kaunas, Lithuania in two venues ( Arvydas Sabonis Basketball Centre and the legend ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Tra ...

. As per the advice and wishes of his family, he decided to leave Saski Baskonia during summer 2016 at age sixteen once the club wanted him to turn professional, which was to entail stopping his formal education, devoting his time fully to basketball, and likely being sent out on loans to smaller Spanish clubs in pursuit of making the full squad at Baskonia. Summarizing his two year stay in Spain, Petrušev described it as "essentially becoming a semi-professional at fourteen" while crediting it for "significant personal growth". Not keen on stopping his secondary education as part of turning professional, Petrušev began looking for a way to continue his schooling while simultaneously pursuing basketball.

U.S. high schools

After making the Serbia under-16 national team for the 2016 U16 European Championship where he appeared alongside youth prospects Alen Smailagić,

Dalibor Ilić Dalibor Ilić ( sr-cyr, Далибор Илић; born 4 March 2000) is a Serbian professional basketball player for Crvena zvezda of the Adriatic League and the EuroLeague. Early career Born in Višegrad, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Her ...

, and Marko Pecarski, sixteen-year-old Petrušev began playing

high school basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

with

Avon Old Farms , motto_translation = Aspiring and Persevering , address = 500 Old Farms Road , city = Avon , state = Connecticut , zipcode = 06001 , country = United Sta ...

, an all-boys boarding school in

Avon, Connecticut Avon ( ) is a town in the Farmington Valley region of Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 18,932. History Avon was settled in 1645 and was originally a part of neighboring Farmington. ...

. Arriving to Connecticut with a foot injury he had picked up at the European under-16 Championship, Petrušev missed the majority of the season, watching the games from the bench and reportedly being disappointed with the style of basketball played at Avon, specifically its run-and-gun nature and disorganized structure. Once he finally got on the court, though, he quickly adapted to the different style of play, eventually growing to appreciate its faster pace, focus on athleticism as well as being able to stretch the floor, shoot the three, and have the ball in his hands more, none of which he had been exposed to at Baskonia or Serbia under-16 national team. In July 2017, ahead of his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

season, Petrušev transferred to

Montverde Academy Montverde Academy is a private PK–12 school in Montverde, Florida, United States. History The school was founded in 1912 as Montgomery Industrial School. The school president was Henry P. Carpenter. It underwent a major expansion in 1921, wh ...

Montverde, Florida Montverde is a town in Lake County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,655 at the 2020 census and an estimated 1,675 in 2018. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Montverde wa ...

, an elite professional sports private prep school that a number of NBA players had come up through. In August 2017, he attended the

Basketball Without Borders Basketball Without Borders is a basketball instructional camp organized by the NBA in conjunction with FIBA. It presents itself as a “basketball development and community outreach program that unites young basketball players to promote the sport ...

Europe Camp 16 in

Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate ...

, Israel. Playing on a roster led by the number 1 prospect in the country

RJ Barrett Rowan Alexander "RJ" Barrett Jr. (born June 14, 2000) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected third overall in the 2019 NBA draft by the New York Knicks ...

as well as top recruits

Andrew Nembhard Andrew William Nembhard (born January 16, 2000) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Florida Gators and the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Col ...

and Michael Devoe, Petrušev immediately gained the trust of the team's head coach Kevin Boyle who envisioned the 6' 11" (2.11 m) Serbian as a modern big (power forward or center) who could shoot threes and set himself apart as an inside-outside player. Adjudged to be too thin, the player was simultaneously put through a physical regiment to bulk up. Petrušev attended Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in

El Segundo, California El Segundo ( , ; ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located on Santa Monica Bay, it was incorporated on January 18, 1917, and is part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments. The population was 16,731 as of th ...

in February 2018.

U.S. college recruiting

Petrušev was a consensus four-star recruit, according to major recruiting services. He originally committed to the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. The university attracts students from 48 states and 43 countries. The university and it ...

on October 24, 2016, but later de-committed on July 26, 2017. On October 22, 2017, he announced his commitment to Gonzaga. On November 8, 2017, Petrušev signed a

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement, term sh ...

with the

College career

As a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. A ...

, Petrušev averaged 6.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game and was named to the

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

(WCC) All-Freshman Team. He scored a career-high 25 points in a 110–60 win over Arkansas–Pine Bluff on November 9, 2019. On December 21, Petrušev had 24 points and nine rebounds in a 112–77 win over

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Ha ...

. He was named to the midseason watchlist for the

Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

. Petrušev went down with an ankle injury in the second half of a game against BYU on January 18, 2020. At the conclusion of the regular season, Petrušev was named WCC player of the year. He averaged 17.5 points and eight rebounds per game. Following the season Petrušev declared for the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...

. Later, he withdrawn his name from consideration for the 2020 NBA draft.

Professional career

Mega Soccerbet (2020–2021)

On July 20, 2020, Petrušev signed his first professional contract with Mega Soccerbet of the

Basketball League of Serbia The Basketball League of Serbia ( sr, Кошаркашка лига Србије, Košarkaška liga Srbije; abbr. КЛС or KLS), is a top-tier men's professional basketball league in Serbia. Founded in 2006, it is run by the Basketball Federat ...

. "There's a lot of uncertainty with the NCAA season," he said. "Here I should be able to showcase some skills I wasn't able to at Gonzaga and improve my draft stock." He was named the ABA League October MVP. On November 8, Petrušev withdrew from the 2020 NBA draft. He won the ABA League MVP,

ABA League Top Prospect The ABA League Top Prospect award, also known as the Adriatic League Top Prospect award, is an annual award given by the Adriatic League (ABA League), which is a European regional league, that is the top-tier level professional basketball league fo ...

, and ABA League Top Scorer awards for the 2020–21 season.

Anadolu Efes (2021–2022)

In August 2021, having been drafted by the team earlier in the summer, Petrušev joined the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

for the

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...

. On August 9, 2021, he made his debut in the Summer League in a 95–73 win against the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The ...

in which he posted 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 19 minutes. On 17 August 2021, Petrušev signed a one-year contract with reigning EuroLeague champions Anadolu Efes of the

Turkish Super League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and ...

. Joining the accomplished squad led by a duo of guards

Shane Larkin DeShane Davis Larkin (born October 2, 1992) is an American-Turkish professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketball Super League and the EuroLeague. He also represents the senior Turkish national team in international ...

and Petrušev's Serbian compatriot Vasilije Micić, Petrušev started out well in the EuroLeague opening game loss away at

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, his EuroLeague debut, with 17 points in 16 minutes of action on 6 of 8 field goal shooting. He had a few more solid outings during the first half of the season that saw the defending champions Efes struggle with a 0-4 start before finally recording a win in week 5 at home to the Russian club UNICS. The team's struggles continued the rest of fall 2021 with a disappointing 9-9 record at the end of December 2021 just past the half-way point of the regular season. Petrušev’s role diminished in the second half of the EuroLeague regular season as Efes' veteran centers

Tibor Pleiß Tibor Pleiß (, alternative spelling Pleiss; born 2 November 1989) is a German professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Super League and the EuroLeague. Standing , he plays the center position. He is also a member of the G ...

and Bryant Dunston rolled into form and head coach

Ergin Ataman Halil Ergin Ataman (born January 7, 1966) is a Turkish professional basketball coach. He is the current head coach of Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague. He also coaches the Turkey men's national basketball team. During ...

generally began relying more on the veterans that carried Efes the season before. After not getting a single minute of action in the playoffs quarterfinal best-of-five series versus

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

, Petrušev also had no playing time at the Final Four in Belgrade as Efes successfully defended its EuroLeague title.

Crvena zvezda (2022–present)

After answering the Serbian national team call-up for two qualification games as part of the team's World Cup third qualification window in late June and early July 2022 (and appearing only in the first game away at Latvia with no points and 10 rebounds), Petrušev joined the

in its Summer League participation in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

for the second year running later that month. Expressing desire to join the Sixers right away, he appeared in 4 Summer League games for the team, averaging 5.5 points and 2.3 rebounds. Adjudged to still not be ready for the NBA physically, he was not signed by the Sixers. On 19 July 2022, Petrušev signed a contract with his hometown club Crvena zvezda. The move meant a return to Crvena zvezda for Petrušev as he had played within the club's youth system prior to 2014.

NBA draft rights

On 3 May 2021, Petrušev declared for the

2021 NBA Draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NB ...

. Petrušev was selected with the 50th overall pick by the

in the 2021 NBA Draft. Following the draft, it was reported that Petrušev will not join the Sixers roster for the

2021–22 NBA season The 2021–22 NBA season was the 76th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The NBA returned to a full 82-game regular season in its normal mid-October to mid-April schedule for the first time since the 2018–19 NBA season, aft ...

National team career

Youth

Petrušev was a member of the Serbian U-16 national team that participated at the

and 2016 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. Petrušev was a member of the Serbian national under-18 basketball teams that won the gold medals at the 2017 Championship and the 2018 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. Over seven tournament games in 2017, he averaged 5.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. In 2018, he averaged 21.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game over seven tournament games. Petrušev had 29 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in the Final. At the tournament's end, he finished third in scoring and rebounds and got selected to the All-Tournament Team. Petrušev was a member of the Serbian under-19 team that finished 7th at the

2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup The 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup (Greek: Παγκόσμιο Κύπελλο Μπάσκετ FIBA Under-19 2019) was the 14th edition of the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, the biennial international men's youth basketball championsh ...

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban ...

, Greece. Over seven tournament games, he averaged 19.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 2.0 blocks per game.

Full squad

Petrušev was a member of the Serbia national team put together by head coach

Igor Kokoškov Igor Stefan Kokoškov ( sr-Cyrl, Игор Стефан Кокошков; born December 17, 1971) is a Serbian professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He had spen ...

for the 2020 FIBA Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, played in Belgrade, Serbia in late June and early July 2021. His team lost to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in the final thus missing the 2020 Summer Olympics. Over four tournament games, he averaged team-high 15.5 points, five rebounds, 0.8 assists, and team-high one block per game.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2021–22† , style="text-align:left;", Anadolu Efes , 22 , , 4 , , 9.3 , , .597 , , .400 , , .750 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , .1 , , .2 , , 5.2 , , 5.2

Adriatic League

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, style="text-align:left;", Mega Basket , 21 , , 21 , , style="background:#cfecec;" , 32.0* , , style="background:#cfecec;" , .579* , , .419 , , .739 , , 7.6 , , 1.6 , , .5 , , 1.1 , , style="background:#cfecec;" , 23.6*

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places * Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy * Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily People with the surna ...

, 32 , , 0 , , 11.4 , , .554 , , .300 , , .853 , , 2.7 , , .3 , , .2 , , .5 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 33 , , 25.9 , , .562 , , .182 , , .655 , , 7.9 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .8 , , 17.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 65 , , 33 , , 18.8 , , .560 , , .268 , , .703 , , 5.4 , , .9 , , .4 , , .6 , , 12.0

Personal life

His younger brother David is a basketball player. David represented the Serbia national under-17 team at the

2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup The 2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup (Spanish: Copa del Mundo de Baloncesto FIBA Sub-17 2018) was the 5th edition of the FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested by the U17 ...

References

External links

Gonzaga Bulldogs bio

Filip Petrušev
at aba-liga.com
Filip Petrušev
at euroleague.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Petrušev, Filip 2000 births Living people ABA League players All-American college men's basketball players Anadolu Efes S.K. players Avon Old Farms alumni Basketball players from Belgrade Centers (basketball) Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball players KK Crvena zvezda players KK Mega Basket players Montverde Academy alumni Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Power forwards (basketball) Serbian expatriate basketball people in Spain Serbian expatriate basketball people in Turkey Serbian expatriate basketball people in the United States Serbian men's basketball players