Prospect Profile: Danilo Jovanovich
“That kid in the yellow shoes can play,” a scout at last weekend’s Top 250 Expo told me. He was slouched against a wall — quite possibly from shock — as he watched Danilo Jovanovich (aka the kid in the yellow-shoes).…
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Continue Reading“That kid in the yellow shoes can play,” a scout at last weekend’s Top 250 Expo told me. He was slouched against a wall — quite possibly from shock — as he watched Danilo Jovanovich (aka the kid in the yellow-shoes). We bonded over our mutual interest in how much Jovanovich dominated the younger division, and the more we watched, the more one thing materialized. He’s very confident, and rightfully so.
I picked up that vibe after Jovanovich drilled a three then draw an imaginary arrow, making the motion of cocking it back and flinging it at his defender. “I have been playing for a long time and I hate to lose,” Jovanovich said when asked about the role of confidence in his game. “I also play with a lot of emotion and energy…I think that I am a confident player, I feel like every time I step on the court that I have to have the mentality that I’m the best player on the floor.”
His freshman year at Whitnall High School emitted the same flare of confidence and dominant play noted at the Expo. The forward led the roster with 13.4 points a night. It’s a feat in its own right — but as a freshman, it’s an enormous accomplishment. “I mean I just kind of played my game,” Jovanovich explained. “I became a leader as the year went on.”
He is aware of what his capabilities are and is an expert at exploiting them. That’s what he did freshman season to take the reins of a varsity squad, and what he did at the Expo to boost his stock.
Jovanovich plays basketball with many different hats, so it’s impossible to label him by a specific position. At the Expo, he utilized his body as a constant battering ram to create room for himself in the paint. At the rim, he switched off finishing with the soft-touch of a skilled center and the tough shot-making of a guard, making matchups nearly impossible.
One of his more utilized skills, his handle, allowed him to ignite fastbreaks and push pace and also created a sense of security in the half-court that he could assume the role of point guard. But Jovanovich doesn’t see that aspect of his game through the same optimistic lens. “I feel like my ball handling has got better but I can still improve,” he told me.
Looking forward, college is about as sure a bet as anything. Jovanovich told me that he received interest from Iowa freshman year, and anyone who has watched him play knows that coy glances from high-major schools are just the beginning.
His latest major move was to join Phenom University. The renowned grassroots program picked up the budding sophomore after he spent last summer with Wisconsin Playground. When asked why he chose a change in scenery, Jovanovich stated, “I feel like it’s a good fit for me…The whole experience of playing on EYBL with a great organization like Phenom.”
Look for the forward to turn heads next season, luring the attention of scouts and fans.