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ESPN- NBA draft analyst and writer
Joined ESPN.com in July 2017
Founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service used by NBA, NCAA and international teams - Close
Basketball recruiting insider- Jeff Borzello is a basketball recruiting insider. He has joined ESPN in 2014.
Gonzaga center Filip Petrusev is leaving school and will sign a deal with Serbian club Mega Bemax, Petrusev's father, Dejan, told ESPN.
For now, Petrusev does not plan on withdrawing from the NBA draft. He has until Oct. 6, 10 days before the draft, to withdraw his name.
"There's a lot of uncertainty with the NCAA season," Petrusev said. "Here I should be able to showcase some skills I wasn't able to at Gonzaga and improve my draft stock."
A 6-foot-11 big man from Serbia, Petrusev played two seasons under Mark Few at Gonzaga. He averaged 6.5 points and 2.7 rebounds as a freshman before breaking out as a sophomore and earning WCC Player of the Year honors. He averaged 17.5 points and 7.9 rebounds last season, including nine double-doubles and a 22-point, 15-rebound outing against Oregon in November.
Petrusev is ranked No. 70 in ESPN's NBA draft rankings, slotting in as the No. 12 center.
His departure is a blow to Gonzaga, which was the No. 1 team in ESPN's most recent Way-Too-Early Top 25 for the 2020-21 season. Few already had to replace starters Killian Tillie and Ryan Woolridge from last season, but rising sophomore Drew Timme and incoming five-star freshman Jalen Suggs were ready-made replacements in the lineup. Without Petrusev anchor the low post, the Zags could go small with rising sophomore Anton Watson or use another big man like Pavel Zakharov or Oumar Ballo.
Few also is awaiting two more NBA draft decisions from Corey Kispert and Joel Ayayi, both of whom are testing the NBA draft waters. They have until Aug. 3 to withdraw their names and return to Spokane.
ESPN's Jonathan Givony contributed to this report.
