UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; April 23, 2009 – Penn State men’s basketball coach Ed DeChellis received a National Letter of Intent from 6-9, 230-pound forward Sasa Borovnjak Thursday, one week after the NCAA late signing period began on April 15. The native of Belgrade, Serbia had officially committed to the Nittany Lions last week, but his official letter had to travel to Serbia and back for his parent’s signatures.
Borovnjak has spent the last two years playing at Veritas Christian Academy in Fletcher, N.C. where he became the nationally competitive program’s go-to player according to head coach John Jordan.
‘Sasa is a thinking four-man who has the ability to score in a variety of ways and has a very high skill level,’ Jordan said. ‘He can play with his back to the basket, take people outside and face the basket, handles the ball and shoots very well. He understands the game very well and is a great passer.’
Borovnjak earned first-team All-Western North Carolina honors in his senior season at Veritas where he led western North Carolina in scoring and was fourth among all public and private school players in the state posting 26.1 ppg. He also added 12.0 rebounds per game for a Veritas team that went 20-18 and finished sixth in the National Association of Christian Athlete’s Division I National Championship. Veritas spent four weeks in ESPN’s Top 50 prep program rankings during the year and played a national schedule that took them as far as the Bahamas and to 16 states according to Jordan.
‘I think he is a very good fit for the Big Ten with his skill level and strength,’ Jordan said. ‘He is a strong kid and a very hard worker. When he came to us as a junior he weighed 205 pounds and now weighs around 230. His strength allows him to play good post defense and he has all the tools to be a scorer at the next level. He has a `refuse to lose’ attitude and doesn’t back down against the top players and teams in the country.’
Borovnjak played two seasons at Veritas where he played with current Memphis guard Doneal Mack and Clemson center Catalin Baciu. Jordan said he Borovnjak really began to emerge when in his junior season he dunked over the 7-2 Baciu in a practice.
‘He had to battle against a bunch of very good big men just in our program,’ Jordan said. ‘We have five guys over 6-7 on our team this year. With our schedule he also played against some of the top prep players in the country and became our go-to guy on offense.’
Borovnjak posted 33 points and 14 rebounds against perennial national power Oak Hill Academy and had a 41-point outing vs. Queens Grant and 27 points vs. Mt. Zion. He averaged 18 ppg and 12 rpg as a junior and was named the Offensive MVP of the NACA Division I National Championship. He is listed as a three star recruit by Scout.com and was also heavily recruited by N.C. State, Marquette, Wake Forest and the College of Charleston among others.
Borovnjak’s brother, Dejan, is a 6-10 forward who has played five years of professional basketball in Europe. He averaged 12.2 ppg and 6.8 rpg playing for Vojvodina Srbijagas in the Adriatic League in 2008-09.
Borovnjak joins 6-2, Texas point-guard Tim Frazier (Houston, Texas/Strake Jesuit) and 6-5, Pennsylvania shooting guard Jermaine Marshall (Etters, Pa./Red Land). Frazier averaged 15.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.6 steals per game in leading Strake Jesuit to a 37-1 record last season. He was named the No. 1 Class of 2009 recruit out of Texas by the TexasHoops.com.