Igor Milicic Jr. enters the transfer portal after one season at Virginia

The Virginia Cavaliers lost their second scholarship player to the transfer portal this offseason early Friday morning as freshman Igor Milicic Jr. announced his departure. The Croatian is a high-potential offensive talent who never broke into the rotation this season despite showing flashes in non-conference play.

In 16 career games with Virginia, Milicic Jr. averaged 2.1 points per contest on 36.4% (8-22) shooting from beyond the arc. He played just over six minutes per game and only appeared in five contests after the start of the new year.

Milicic Jr. did put on a few impressive shooting displays early in the season. His 11 points against Coppin State and nine against Fairleigh Dickinson highlighted his perimeter abilities despite standing at 6’10”.

It’s a shame to lose a player who has a high ceiling offensively and who could’ve given the program a unique skillset to experiment with. That said, it’s understandable that Milicic Jr. would look elsewhere after one season in the orange and blue. Tony Bennett never gave him real opportunities to prove himself in game action. Whether that be on Bennett or Milicic Jr. is unknown, but Milicic Jr. clearly fell out of contention for real minutes early in the season.

This now means that UVA now has 11 of 13 scholarships filled heading into next season. It’s expected that Tony Bennett and staff will be active in the transfer market looking to add shooting in the backcourt and potentially a depth piece in the front-court if the fit is right.

With 2022 commit Leon Bond likely to redshirt and Ryan Dunn a candidate as well, UVA has the space to add guys who can contribute. If so, there should be fierce competition for playing time especially as Bennett has proven to be selective with his rotation over time.

There’s likely still plenty of news to drop for UVA basketball this offseason, perhaps most notably Friday afternoon at 3:30 when top-2023 point guard prospect London Johnson announces where he’s committing with UVA as one of his six final schools. Stay tuned to Streaking the Lawn for all your breaking UVA basketball news and for instant analysis of all moves.