Filip Petrusev Leaves Gonzaga for Serbian Professional Team

Filip Petrusev has left the Gonzaga Bulldogs and will begin his professional career back in his home country of Serbia with Mega Bamex, Eurohoops.net reported today.

The Gonzaga sophomore was a monster last season, averaging 17.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game as the primary focal point for the offense. As expected, Petrusev entered the NBA Draft process without hiring an agent back in late April.

Since entering the draft process, the entire thing has been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. With no clear indication on what the immediate future holds for either the NBA or NCAA seasons, players such as Petrusev, and teammates Joel Ayayi and Corey Kispert, have been stuck in limbo.

In terms of draft potential, Petrusev was an interesting case. Sam Vecenie with The Athletic wrote a fascinating piece on the NBA potential of Gonzaga’s three players, and Petrusev had the most polarizing takes. Although the age-old saying in the NBA is you can’t teach seven feet, many teams don’t even care to teach seven feet anymore. Petrusev’s limited range could have been an issue in the NBA and his style is much more suited for the European style of play.

He also needed to strike while the iron is hot. Gonzaga’s frontcourt is absolutely stacked for next season, with Drew Timme demonstrating success in his freshman year. Oumar “Baby Shaq” Ballo is ready to be unleashed and Anton Watson returns from injury. As our own Steven Karr pointed out earlier this summer, the Petrusev/Timme combo was one of the least efficient for the Zags last season.

No one can fault a player for going after the money they are worth, especially in this time of utter insanity. Congratulations Filip Petrusev on making the big leap!

Edit: Confirmation Time.