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It might be 90+ degrees outside, but it’s time for the basketball countdown already! In just 55 short days the 2019-20 season will tip off in Mackey Arena against Purdue alum Linc Darner and his Green Bay Phoenix. Today’s player might start that game.
Sasha Stefanovic - So.
Crown Point, IN (Crown Point HS)
6’4”, 195 pounds
Shooting Guard
2019-20 projection: Contributor at Guard
For a while we have seen a clear progression at who was going to be Purdue’s top three-point shooter. Ryne Smith (after a gap) begat Dakota Mathias begat Ryan Cline now begat Sasha Stefanovic. There was enough of a logjam there that Sasha redshirted the 2017-18 season despite having a solid performance in the World University Games that year.
Last season he was a key reserve for Cline. He played in all 36 games and averaged 2.5 points and 1.1 rebounds per game in a little over 11 minutes per night. He didn’t have the volume of Cline, but he shot a promising 41% from three. He hit his only shot of the four game NCAA run as a three in nine minutes against Villanova. His best game of the year came at home against Rutgers, where he finished with 14 points on 4 of 5 shooting from long range.
Sasha is a bit more like Dakota than he is Cline, but they are all designed to be long range snipers. He has the size to get to the basket and showed what he can do in the World University Games. There will be plenty of shots to go around too with Carsen Edwards off to the NBA.