Badgers add Serbian wing to 2024 recruiting class
Jovana Spasovski rounds out Marisa Moseley's new freshman class.
Back on July 26, the Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team completed their 2024-25 roster with the announcement of the addition of Jovana Spasovski. The native of Belgrade, Serbia has played for the Serbian national team at the U-20 level, finishing fourth (out of 16) at the FIBA U-20 Women’s European Championship last summer.
Spasovski had committed to Pitt on June 5, but that didn’t stop the Badgers from continuing their pursuit of the Serbian wing and in the end, Marisa Moseley got her woman.
"Jovana is a three-level scorer, who's versatility will fit perfectly into our system. She is a fierce competitor and has an incredible will to win! Her unselfish demeanor on and off the court is the epitome of what we look for in our players. I cannot wait for you all to see her! Badger Nation, please help me welcome Jovana to our family,” Moseley said in a statement on UWBadgers.com.
Jovana Spasovski Fast Facts
Height: 6-foot-0
Position: wing
Number: 11
Class: 2024
Hometown: Belgrade, Serbia
Club Team: Ilirija (Slovenia)
While she struggled in the semifinals and third place game, Spasovski had a productive tournament for Serbia in the 2023 U-20 European Championship, averaging 8.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.7 apg, 0.9 spg in 23.1 mpg. She shot 41.1% (23-of-56) from the field, 18.2% (2-of-11) from deep, and 64.3% (9-of-14) from the charity stripe. In the 2024 Women’s U-20 EuroBasket tournament in July, Spasovski struggled a bit more. She only averaged 12.4 mpg and notched 2.6 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.3 apg, and 0.3 spg for a Serbian team that finished 15th out of 16. She, unsurprisingly, didn’t shoot well from the field, from three, or from the free throw line.
Spasovski, who will be 20 years old when the season starts, has played for Ilirija in the Slovenian Basketball League since 2022. In 23 games last year, she averaged 22.4 mpg, 9.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.0 apg, and 1.2 spg. She shot 21.1% (15-of-71) from beyond the arc and 78.9% (30-of-38) at the free throw line.
Highlights
Scouting Report
After looking over Spasovski’s shooting numbers I went into her highlight tape with pretty low expectations. Now that I’ve watched it over twice I am baffled as to how her shooting numbers are so poor! She has a good looking shot!! I know that I was watching a “highlight compilation video,” but you can’t edit her shooting motion (I’m, like, 90% certain) and it was smooth and repeatable. Her shooting numbers are still a concern, but I’m heartened by her nearly 80% shooting from the free throw line last season.
She is active on the boards, especially for her position, and shows hints of being an adequate playmaker from the wing, but this skill will need work. I like how she handles the ball and, in an emergency, she could bring it up the court and initiate the offense. Her positional size is good which I hope will translate into her being a useful defender, but her foot speed may not be fast enough to guard anyone smaller than her.
Comparisons are tough, as each player brings their own skillset to the court, but I can see Spasovski filling a “More Athletic Brooke Schramek” role for the Badgers in a year or two. With this signing the Badgers are now up to five freshmen in the 2024 class and have basically filled every position on the court. This was definitely a late-developing class, but Moseley and co. may have found some diamonds in the rough that will be able to take rotation spots as soon as next season.
Spasovski joins freshmen Gracie Grzesk (5-foot-11, forward, Green Bay, Wis.), Alie Bisballe (6-foot-4, forward, Lake City, Mich.), Reese Jaramillo (5-foot-8, guard, Racine, Wis.), and Alba Martín Mesa (5-foot-6, point guard, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain) in the 2024 class, as well as transfers Tess Myers (grad student, 5-foot–9, guard, Duquesne) and Carter McCray (sophomore, 6-foot-1, center, Northern Kentucky) as new players for the Badgers this season.