CANISIUS COLLEGE ATHLETICS
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Canisius head men’s basketball coach Reggie Witherspoon announced Tuesday that Ivan Hadzic (Belgrade, Serbia) has signed his National Letter of Intent and will join the Golden Griffin men’s basketball program for the 2018-19 season.
Hadzic will be the first Serbian-born player in program history. He spent the 2017-18 academic year at Southwest Christian Academy in Little Rock, Ark., and will join the Griffs’ roster as a freshman next fall.
Ivan Hadzic | 6-9 | 240 | C | Belgrade, Serbia | Southwest Christian (Ark.)
• Played the 2017-18 season at Southwest Christian in Little Rock, Ark., where he helped lead the Lions to a 31-4 overall record and an appearance in the 2018 NACA National Championship game.
• Has extensive international basketball experience on his resume, including an invitation to the Serbian National U-18 Team Camp in 2016.
• Was a member of the U-18 Serbian National team that earned a third-place finish at the 2016 3×3 European Championship.
• Plans on majoring in sport management at Canisius.
Witherspoon on Hadzic: “We are very excited that Ivan will be joining our program here at Canisius. He is a very good student in the classroom, and he is someone who brings size to our roster. He will also provide us with a mature approach to the game, thanks in large part to his experiences playing international basketball.”
Canisius will return three starters and nine letterwinners from a team that posted a 21-12 overall record and a 15-3 mark in MAAC play in 2017-18. The 21 wins tie the school record for most victories in a regular season, and the 15 conference victories allowed the Griffs to earn a share of the MAAC regular-season championship, the program’s first since 1993-94.