As season opens, UNC basketball gets a valuable addition in Luka Bogavac

Nobody knew. Not his teammates. Not his coaches. Not even his mother, who’d traveled all the way from Montenegro hoping to see him play.

Nobody knew if Luka Bogavac — the Montenegrin hooper cleared by the NCAA and awaiting school-level eligibility clearance — would take the court for UNC’s season opener against Central Arkansas on Monday night.

Least of all, the man himself.

Things didn’t look hopeful. According to Bogavac’s mother, Bozana, her 22-year-old son was told he would not play when he arrived at the Dean E. Smith Center on Monday. Things might be settled by warmups, or the start of the game. Maybe. Hopefully.

And so that’s why, while the rest of the Tar Heels began their first wave of pregame warmups — a little over an hour prior to tipoff — Bogavac settled into a couch in the players’ lounge, per his teammates.

“He was taking a little cat nap when we walked out,” senior guard Seth Trimble said. “He was just resting his eyes… but I think he got woken up out of his sleep, or something like that, and told he was clear.”

Less than an hour before tipoff, coach Hubert Davis received confirmation that Bogavac’s school-level eligibility had been resolved, ending weeks of uncertainty that kept the junior from playing in UNC’s two exhibition games vs. No. 8 BYU and Winston-Salem State. The university’s own internal review — involving international transcripts and transfer credits — dragged on until game day, but was ultimately resolved in time for Bogavac to drop 10 points, three rebounds, five assists and two steals in North Carolina’s 94-54 win over Central Arkansas.

For Bogavac to find out he was playing right before the game, and still finish with those marks was “pretty good,” in Davis’ book. Guard Kyan Evans, too, praised Bogavac for his poise.

“It was impressive,” Evans said. “I think he played well… I mean, he wasn’t mentally preparing for the game all day. He had no idea he was gonna play until [about] 20 minutes before. So that’s difficult to do.”

That’s not to say Bogavac was unprepared for the moment — even if his pregame warmup on Monday was a bit shorter than usual.

The 6-foot-6 junior guard, who joined the Tar Heels in August after several years playing professional hoops overseas, is expected to play a key role on a UNC team that underwent a major offseason overhaul.

“He’s older, more experienced, and his personality is, just, he’s a competitor,” Davis said at ACC Tipoff. “Whether it’s just a pick-up game or we’re scrimmaging or just an individual drill. He’s someone that competes on every possession.”

The Tar Heel newcomer was born into the game. His father, Nebojša, played 13 years professionally and now coaches in Montenegro. Luka attended high school in Belgrade, Serbia, before launching his own pro career in 2021.

Bogavac spent the past two seasons with SC Derby Podgorica in the AdmiralBet ABA League, part of the Adriatic Basketball Association. In 2024-25, he averaged 14.9 points per game and shot nearly 40% from three. That part of his game — the shooting — was widely regarded. But Bogavac showed his playmaking ability, too, on Monday night.

“He can handle it, he can pass it, he can initiate offense,” Davis said Monday. “[Bogavac] gives us another playmaker out there on the floor. And I thought he did a really nice job defensively as well.”

But for much of Monday, nobody knew if Bogavac would have a chance to put that skill set on display. Davis himself didn’t get the word of approval from the University until roughly an hour before tipoff, per a UNC spokesperson. Once he did, there was no hesitation.

“I told him to get his uniform on — you’re playing,” Davis said with a laugh, recalling the pregame chat with Bogavac. “I didn’t think it was time to sit down and have some coffee and tea and talk. I wanted him to get dressed. I wanted him to get taped. I wanted him to get warmed up and get ready to go.”

While Bogavac was not made available to the media following the game, his teammates helped paint the picture of the Montenegrin’s pregame excitement.

Evans said that once Bogavac got the news, he jumped up from the couch and hurried to get dress. Caleb Wilson described Bogavac as “ecstatic.”

“He was happy, he was breathing hard,” Evans said. “He couldn’t stop smiling.”

Did Bogavac say anything?

“He was breathing too hard to say anything,” Wilson said with a laugh. “He was just on the move.”

Soon after, Bogavac stepped out of the locker room and into the tunnel beside his teammates. There, he caught Trimble’s eye and wrapped an arm around the senior’s shoulders. They exchanged a few words, a dap, a hug, a smile.

“I was just telling him welcome,” Trimble said. “He’s been waiting for this moment, been super eager to play. And it sucks that he was even in this position in the first place. I was just letting him know: Welcome. We’re happy to have you.”

Then Bogavac — or Bogi, as the team calls him — jogged out with the team. When he checked in with 16:12 remaining in the first half, Bogavac entered the game to a large ovation from the home crowd.

The entire UNC bench stood up. Several players waved their arms. They encouraged the fans’ cheers. More. Louder. The claps, hoops and hollers soon gave way to a long cry of “Luuuuuuka.”

In front of his mother, and with his father and brother staying up until 3 a.m. local time to watch from home, Bogavac joined his teammates on the hardwood. Where he should be. That much, Davis knew.

“He’s somebody — obviously, coming from Montenegro — that has always, since the first time that I talked to him, had a burning desire to be a part of this team, this program, this university and this community,” Davis said, “and to be able to see him run out of that tunnel with the uniform on, and be able to check him in and see that smile — that is something, again, that I remember for the rest of my life.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2025 at 6:43 PM.