Press Release – 2: “The Penn State Nittany Lion basketball team saw its incoming class grow to six with the signing of freshman Nikola Obradovic (Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro) to a national letter of intent. Obradovic is the fifth freshman in head coach Ed DeChellis’ six-man recruiting class.
‘We’re very excited to have a player the quality of Nikola join our program,’ DeChellis said. ‘He is a talented player whose European experience will be a benefit to our team. His addition to the roster bolsters our backcourt and adds size to the perimeter. Nikola is a welcome addition to the Penn State basketball family and we’re thrilled to welcome him to the team.’
Obradovic is 6-5, 195 pounds, with experience at both the point guard and shooting guard positions. As a junior league player in Belgrade, he helped guide his team to national championships and was voted league Most Valuable Player. Obradovic is a 2003 graduate of Belgrade’s Sports High School.
Obradovic joins countryman Milos Bogetic (Podgorica, Serbia and Montenegro) as well as classmates Jamelle Cornley (Columbus, Ohio), Maxwell Dubois (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Joonas Suotamo (Espoo, Finland) as incoming freshmen. Junior college transfer David Jackson (Gaithersburg, Md.) rounds out the six man recruiting class.
With this year’s large class and last season’s five-man group, DeChellis and his staff have brought in 11 new faces during their first two full years of recruiting.
In other roster action, guard Marlon Smith (Bronx, N.Y.) has decided to leave Penn State and, having been given a release from his scholarship, will look to transfer to another institution.
‘Marlon has decided to leave Penn State,’ DeChellis said. ‘He indicated that he felt like he needed a change and we will support him in his decision. Marlon has been through a great deal this past season and we wish him well with his basketball future.’
Smith played in Penn State’s first 13 games last year as a sophomore before being sidelined medically. He averaged 11.8 ppg and 3.3 rpg last season and 13.4 ppg as a freshman.”