Serbian wing Andrej Kostic is still adjusting to college basketball at K-State
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Coach Jerome Tang limited Andrej Kostic; Kostic logged 12 minutes in 108-49 win.
- Kostic faced cultural, academic and schedule adjustments after arriving from Serbia.
- Kostic must improve defense and become a 2-way player before he earns regular minutes.
Kansas State men’s basketball coach Jerome Tang waited until the Wildcats were leading by 47 points in their last game before he decided to play Andrej Kostic.
That wasn’t a good sign for the 6-foot-6 freshman wing from Serbia who was billed as an impact recruit when he signed with K-State during the offseason.
But, hey, at least he played.
Kostic saw 12 minutes of action during Kansas State’s 108-49 victory over Mississippi Valley on Monday, and he finished the night with two points, three assists and four rebounds. That was a small step in the right direction for him, seeing as how he was glued to the bench in his previous two games.
“He’s trying,” Tang said. “So I’m glad he was able to get some playing time.”
It has been interesting to track Kostic’s progress as a college basketball player.
When he signed with K-State out of Serbia, some touted him as a future NBA Draft pick. He has played in youth international games for his country, and he has played against professionals in overseas leagues. Anyone who has watched his European highlight tape can tell he has high-level skills, especially as a scorer.
But it hasn’t been easy for him to transition to the college game.
He scored a season-high nine points while seeing 17 minutes of action in the season opener against UNC Greensboro. Since then, he has mostly been a non factor. His minutes have cratered this month. He has scored a combined total of four points in K-State’s past four games.
“He’s a real teenager that came over,” Tang said. “He’s not a guy who is 21. You know, Elias (Rapieque) and Dorin (Buca) are a little older. They’ve been away from home before. This is his first time being away from home. So there’s a lot of adjustment. There’s a language adjustment, there’s an adjustment when he goes to class. There is just so much swirling around in his brain.”
Those are things that a typical freshman doesn’t have to deal with.
“We’re also practicing at 7 in the morning,” Tang said. “With the time difference, if he stays up one night to talk to his friends back home then he might only get an hour of sleep. There’s just so much that’s going on for him off-the-court wise. And then you add in the level of competition that we’re playing against every night and the speed of the game that he has to adjust to.”
Kostic has not spoken with media this season.
One thing seems to be holding him back on the court: defense.
Tang gives Kostic a small list of things to work on every week, and they all revolve around improving as a defender. Kostic can dribble and shoot well enough to help the Wildcats. But his minutes won’t increase until he becomes a two-way player.
The Wildcats hope that happens sooner rather than later.
They didn’t recruit Kostic as a developmental player. They wanted him to make an impact in Year 1.