Persistence Pays Off

By Christy Cabrera Chirinos
HurricaneSports.com
 
CORAL GABLES – There were times, early in his career, where Dejan Vasiljevic couldn’t help but wonder if he’d made the right decision, traveling so far from home, to become a Hurricane.
 
Though Vasiljevic was a sharpshooting freshman with plenty of international experience, playing time was hard to come by during the first weeks of his first year on campus, with veteran guards Davon Reed and Ja’Quan Newton, along with former Jordan Brand All-American Bruce Brown Jr., on the roster.
 
These days, both Vasiljevic and the Hurricanes are glad the guard persevered.
 
Three years after navigating those “second thoughts,” Vasiljevic became the 40th player in program history to score 1,000 points at Miami, the milestone coming Tuesday when he had 11 points in the Hurricanes’ 78-77 win over Temple in the Air Force Reserve Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
 
And as he reflected on his personal milestone, Vasiljevic couldn’t help but be grateful not only that he stayed at Miami, but that some of the veterans on that first team he was a part of in Coral Gables helped give him the strength to power through.
 
“I think it all comes down to staying the course, especially when you have ups and downs along the way. Mentally, you have to stay positive,” Vasiljevic said. “My freshman year, I didn’t play a lot at the start. I started having second thoughts. But we had great leaders like Davon Reed and Kamari Murphy who led the way and taught us. Then as you start playing more, you build confidence and by sophomore year, I was a captain. I took a big role in that and played behind Lonnie Walker, who’s in the NBA now. I played alongside Bruce Brown, one of my best friends.
 
“Junior year, I played a lot of minutes because we only had seven guys. So, yeah, there have been ups and downs, but this journey has meant a lot.”
 
It’s a journey Vasiljevic knows he likely wouldn’t have taken without a little bit of faith, both on his part and Miami’s.
 
Hurricanes head coach Jim Larrañaga never saw Vasiljevic – who was born in Canada but raised in Australia – play in person during the recruiting process.
 
But, he liked what he saw on film. And after chatting with a coaching colleague whose team had faced Vasiljevic in Australia, Larrañaga opted to push to bring the Australian Institute of Sport alum stateside to Miami.
 
It’s a move that has clearly paid dividends for both the Hurricanes and their standout guard.
 
Vasiljevic entered Tuesday’s game against Temple already ranked fourth all-time at Miami in 3-pointers made (228), fifth in attempts (586) and seventh in percentage (.389).
 
But it’s not just his ability to score that has impressed teammates and coaches.
 
“He’s probably one of the three or four most mature players I’ve ever been around. He’s very responsible, he’s very bright and he’s very, very focused in every situation, whether it’s on the court, in practice, in the classroom and when we travel,” Larrañaga said. “He’s someone you know is going to be successful at whatever career he chooses, whether he continues to play basketball or goes into the business world or becomes a coach. He’s just very, very dedicated and committed to being as good as he can be.”
 
Added fellow guard Chris Lykes, “DJ’s a leader on and off the court. This is my third year and just to watch him grow as a leader, to see how seriously he takes things, it just trickles down to everyone on the team and has a domino effect on everybody else.”
 
His time at Miami has also give Vasiljevic a new appreciation for the game he’s played most of his life. After hurting his foot in the Hurricanes’ NCAA Tournament opener against Loyola Chicago in 2018, Vasiljevic was sidelined for six months.
 
Unable to practice or work out as he typically did, his conditioning suffered. He credits Brown, his coaches, teammates, family and girlfriend Gemma St. Louis – a pre-med student at Miami – for helping him stay positive and get back in to playing shape.
 
He returned from his injury to play in all 32 of Miami’s games last season, making 25 starts in the process. He averaged 11.8 points as a junior and finished sixth in the ACC in 3-point field goals made, connecting on at least one shot from beyond the arc in 33 straight games dating back to his sophomore year.
 
Now, as he makes his way through his final season as a Hurricane, Vasiljevic has a special milestone on his resume and a drive to make sure his last year at Miami includes one more NCAA Tournament run.
 
“We’re a young team, but we have a lot of talent. We’ve got to lock in defensively and watch a lot of film, because offensively, we’re gifted,” Vasiljevic said. “I think if we play games and get ready for the ACC, get ready to play against the best, we’ll have that motivation to make the Tournament and we know to get there, we have to win those ACC games.”