Indiana basketball adds 'talented big man' to fill out Darian DeVries' first team

Indianapolis Star

28-07-2025

Darian DeVries added another player to his first Indiana basketball roster Monday.
The Hoosiers announced Andrej Acimovic, a 6-foot-11 center from Bijeljina, Bosnia, would receive the 13th scholarship for the 2025-26 season. Acimovic played four games in the Under-19 ABA League with Igokea, the top league in his region, and averaged 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game while making 65.9% from the field (1 for 5 on 3s) and 65.2% on 23 free throw attempts.
'Andrej is a talented big man that we are excited to get in our program and develop,' DeVries said. 'He has good size and is able to score the basketball in different ways. He is strong on the glass and has good defensive instincts and timing when blocking shots.'
The Hoosiers held two scholarship spots in case NCAA eligibility waivers were approved for Anthony Leal or Luke Goode. But it became clear that Leal's waiver was denied when IU added Aleksa Ristic in June. Goode announced earlier this month that his waiver was denied, and he went into detail about the process of the waiver after playing in The Basketball Tournament.
Acimovic showcased the ability to shoot from the perimeter while playing in the second senior division level in Bosnia. There he was highly efficient, converting 65.3% of chances and was 39% on 3-pointers while averaging 17.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
He joins IU as a freshman with four years of eligibility.
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U19 ABA League: 17.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.3 bpg in four games
2024 U18 FIBA EuroBasket Division B: 8.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.8 apg in four games
2022 U16 FIBA EuroBasket Division B: 17 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1 apg in seven games
Acimovic is adept at getting post position with two feet in the paint or on either block. Highlights showed that he favors scoring over his left shoulder, sometimes using a right-handed hook shot. He also uses spin moves to create space.
Acimovic can get the defense out of position in a number of ways, either on post-up touches or as a roll man off the pick-and-roll. He's comfortable finding the open man for easy assists, and he stayed balanced enough to score.
The part of his game that doesn't show up in high quantities is his passing ability, and really his IQ. Acimovic doesn't panic when under pressure of a double team or a swarming defense. He can find a cutter, a relocating shooter or simply the open man.
Defensively, he showed an ability to use his reach to swat shots. He had a knack for staying vertical until the ball was shown. And he even could rotate over and square up to make shots difficult for cutters.