USC recently made contact with North Dakota transfer forward 6-9 Filip Rebraca, and he is interested in continuing the conversations to see if the relationship will grow and lead to an offer. Gamecock assistant coach Chuck Martin is handling the recruiting and the two have it off quickly. Rebraca is from Serbia and is father, Zeljko Rebraca, played five seasons in the NBA.
“He (Martin) was telling me all about that he visited Serbia before because of basketball and he really liked the people there,” Rebraca. said. “We’re just connecting on a few points, what they feel like they need going forward, would I be a good fit, so we’re just getting to know each other.”
Rebraca said Martin his piqued his interest in the Gamecocks and he wants to learn more.
“I’m highly interested to see what they have to say,” Rebraca said. “This is just the beginning of the process. I can still learn a lot more of what they have to offer if they decide to continue this recruitment process. I’d like to talk with the head coach and learn about this program more. They said we (he and Frank Martin) should be able to talk soon.”
The Gamecocks are going through a roster overhaul for the most part this off-season, and Rebraca said Martin explained to him he would fit a definite need in the program.
“They need an experienced guy who can be versatile like I am,” he said. “I do a little bit of everything. In the post, I can play back to the basket, I can face-up, I can face-up and shoot, I can short roll and shoot, I can drive and I can shoot threes. I feel like my game is really well rounded. All my skills can improve, but I’d say I can do a little bit of everything.”
In his three seasons at North Dakota, Rebraca averaged 13 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. He shot 54% from the floor, 38% from three and 63% from the line. This past season he averaged over 17 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Unlike most every other transfer, Rebraca said he’s not leaving North Dakota to simply step up in the basketball world.
“I am an international student, and there’s a US government rule that says international students have to take at least one in person class per semester,” Rebraca said. “I am graduating this summer. The UND master’s program I wanted to attend is going fully online, so I cannot stay here legally, so I decided to not sacrifice my education and try to find another school where I can do it. That’s my primary reason.”
He plans to get his master’s in business administration, and he knows USC has a nationally leading program in that category in their International Business school.
Rebraca will continue to do Zoom sessions with the various schools. He does not plan to take any official visits, which won’t be allowed until June 1st at the earliest.
“I’ll probably have my decision by then,” Rebraca said. “I won’t be taking visits but I’ll definitely be setting up Zooms with other teams that we have mutual interest in and try to find out more about their culture, style of play, how they seem in their team and what are the potential things we can do.”
Rebraca said Iowa, Minnesota, Tulsa, Utah and San Diego State are some of the schools showing the strongest interest in him at this point.
