Filip Borovicanin's game is flourishing, and he has a lot of people to thank

Brandon Goble was at a small indoor basketball court in Belgrade, Serbia, to scout two players.

They were good, for sure. But Goble, the founder and CEO of JUCO Advocate and co-owner of VerbalCommits.com, saw someone else — Filip Borovicanin, the younger brother of one of those players he was there to scout — and had one thought.

“That’s the dude.”

The connection eventually brought Borovicanin — now a 6-foot-9 junior starting guard for the UNM Lobos — to the United States at 17 years old. He had no desire to go to school, however.

“I said, ‘No, I swear to God, I’m not going to go and study more, you know?” Borovicanin explained Thursday in a conversation on Episode 97 of the Journal’s Talking Grammer podcast. “I’m going to go play pro basketball (in Serbia).”

Goble convinced Borovicanin to give college in the U.S. a chance.

“I didn’t know Brandon before that. I was working out with one of my guys back in Serbia,” Borovicanin said. “And then Brandon came over. He saw me, and he said, ‘You know, I’m going to make some connections. If you really still don’t want (to go to college) after that, it’s okay.’”

Borovicanin ended up getting recruited by the University of Arizona, a program with one of the best reputations for scouting international players under head coach Tommy Lloyd.

A lengthy, versatile guard who could handle the ball, shoot, rebound and more, Borovicanin saw Arizona as just a quick stop before his NBA career would begin.

But, for two seasons Borovicanin rarely got off the Wildcats bench, and when he did, it was as a catch-and-shoot threat.

“Coming from Serbia, seeing all those coaches coming to all the way to Belgrade, just to see you, (then I’m going) there to Arizona, you’re thinking, ‘Okay, I’m one-and-done. I’m going to go be a first-round pick.’ That’s what I was saying in my head. ... and then seeing the reality is not like that. People on Twitter is posting this, people on Twitter is posting that about you, talking bad things and stuff. It’s really messing around with your head, you know?”

His confidence was shot, but his skill set was still undeniable.

This past offseason, he transferred to UNM, where Borovicanin has been given every opportunity to show his full skill set — he can lead the fast break, use his length on defense and shoot without hesitancy.

In his first month with the Lobos, Borovicanin struggled in games, but he’s now flourishing in Mountain West play.

Look at his nonconference (11 games)/conference (10 games) splits:

POINTS: nonconference 4.1 ppg/conference 7.8 ppg

REBOUNDS: nonconference 2.7 rpg/conference 7.1 rpg

STEALS: nonconference 0.3 spg/conference 1.4 spg

3-POINT SHOOTING: nonconference 29.4% (5-17)/conference 40.0% (10-25)

“Coming here and Coach (Richard) Pitino, obviously making me shoot the ball, shoot the ball, make a play every day, every practice, and trying to get me going in games. It helped me a lot. And I just can’t be more grateful and thankful for him and for this coaching staff.”

Pitino wasn’t the only one who helped Borovicanin find the confidence to do in games what he has for years been showing he’s capable of in workouts and practices.

Through his time at Arizona when his confidence evaporated, and the first month of this season when it nearly vanished, his parents, especially his dad, Darko Borovicanin, who watches every game no matter what time (often around 3 a.m. in Serbia), always had his back.

“(Earlier this season), my dad always used to tell me, you know son, you just need 15 days. You will just get used to it, you’ll get used to it,” Filip Borovicanin said. “And the days were going, but I was not really getting used to it. At the beginning of the season, I was just ... (it was) going really bad. My dad was like, ‘Believe me, you’re going to get there. Believe me, you’re going to get there.’ And my parents always, always supported me. And now they see I’m coming out of my shell, and my dad is still saying, ‘You know, you’re just going to keep getting better.’ They’re my biggest supporters. ...

“My dad has more belief in me than I have, he’s just given me that confidence a lot,” Borovicanin said. “So I just can’t thank him enough for that. My parents, my brother as well, but my dad is kind of the guy that I talk to the most in my family.”

PLAYING WITH DENT: Borovicanin says he’s never played with a point guard as good as Donovan Dent. Not internationally, not while at Arizona. Never.

Borovicanin has been hit by Dent passes he never suspected were coming his way.

He described a play shortly after arriving to UNM: “I was just like sitting in the corner (of the court), not expecting the ball, because he was going left, and his head was turned all the way to the left side, but I was all the way back in right side, the right corner. He threw the pass all over his head. I didn’t expect the ball. It hit me in a millisecond, in my head. He was like, ‘Come on. Expect the ball!’ And I was like, OK, man. I gotta expect the ball. ...

“That really made me realize, yeah, he’s gonna pass to me if I’m open, he’s gonna see it. And that’s a privilege playing with that kind of player.”