October 12, 2015 One of the state’s more intriguing big-men from the 2016 class is 6-foot-9 center Amel Kuljuhovic. His sheer size alone is enough to generate interest, and his improving skill-set has put him firmly on the radar of…
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SubscribeOctober 12, 2015
One of the state’s more intriguing big-men from the 2016 class is 6-foot-9 center Amel Kuljuhovic.
His sheer size alone is enough to generate interest, and his improving skill-set has put him firmly on the radar of a bevy of area programs.
“Over the summer I was seeing a lot of D3 interest, but since the school year started I’ve been talking to a few JuCos and then one D2 has been starting to talk to me a little bit,” said the Waterloo West post.
“Winona State is the D2 that has been talking to me a little bit, and then the JuCos are Kirkwood, Ellsworth, and Olive-Harvey in Chicago, they started reaching out to me and said they’re interested in me a little bit. And then Grand View in Des Moines, and Morningside I visited there. Central, Coe and Augustana in Illinois also.”
He mentioned Morningside, Central and Coe as three programs that are pursuing him the most right now, and he hays he’s interested in trying to take some additional visits before the season starts next month.
“I talked to a lot of the schools about visiting, and before the season starts I should make about three or four more visits,” said Kuljuhovic.
After fracturing his knuckle limited him during his junior season with the Warhawks, Kuljuhovic returned to full strength this spring and summer with the Iowa Mavericks
“During AAU I felt I came back pretty strong and was able to get a few colleges to look at me. I played center mostly with Mavericks, but during open gyms I’ve been going out and shooting and trying to handle the ball a little more, that’s what I’ve been trying to do this offseason,” said Kuljuhovic, who described his playing style to PHI.
“I feel like I have good footwork around the post and I can pass to cutters and stuff like that. I feel like I play slow, I don’t rush into things.”
“I know at 6’9 I won't really be playing center all the time in college so I’m really trying to improve on stepping out a little bit and learning how to play on the perimeter and not limit my game just to the post.”
After averaging 2.1 points and just north of one rebound per game last season while playing behind current Northern Iowa post Lincoln Conrey, Kuljuhovic says it’s his responsibility to fill Conrey’s void this season.
“Last year we had Lincoln Conrey, he really made a big impact on the team, I feel like I’ll have to do what he did and that was double-double and especially rebound,” said Kuljuhovic. “Also being able to defend the post will really help out the team this year. I’ll be one of the main leaders on the team to fuel the younger guys, and they’ll look for me to help out the team a lot.”
