Aleksa Ristic and Serbia finish 4th at FIBA U20 Eurobasket — Next stop, Bloomington

Incoming IU freshman Aleksa Ristic’s run at the FIBA U20 Eurobasket is complete.

Ristic and the Serbians finished 4th at the event after losing their final two games in Greece.  Serbia started 5-0 to reach the semifinals but lost to Italy and France on Saturday and Sunday.

Over the seven games, the 6-foot-3 Ristic averaged 11.3 points and 6.3 assists.  He made 9-of-30 from three over his last five games after an 0-for-10 start.  He struggled with efficiency throughout the event, but Ristic was a strong facilitator with a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio, and made 85.7% of his free throws.

He is headed to Bloomington ahead of the team’s trip to Puerto Rico on Aug. 5.  IU coach Darian DeVries is looking forward to adding more depth to his backcourt.

“Aleksa is a versatile guard that can play on and off the ball,” DeVries said in a release earlier this month. “He is a competitive kid that has high-level experience playing in FIBA events. We think he has the ability to handle the basketball and make plays out of the pick-and-roll while also being an efficient shooter that will add tremendous depth to our backcourt.”

For Ristic’s highlights from the event:

Highlight reel: IU freshman guard Aleksa Ristic’s first five games at FIBA U20 Eurobasket

For a profile on Ristic including his thoughts on heading to the United States to play for Indiana:

Aleksa Ristic is set to bring professional mindset and experience to IU men’s basketball