From Serbia to Tennessee: Knoxville鈥檚 gentle giant
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (BVM) —The University of Tennessee has played basketball since 1908 and has only had one player from Serbia in the history of their program. That would be redshirt sophomore, Uro拧 Plav拧i膰.
The seven-foot center grew up in a small town with a population of less than 12,000 people called Ivanjica, Serbia, which is about three hours south of the nation鈥檚 capital, Belgrade.聽聽
The street that Plav拧i膰 lives on in Ivanjica has 50 to 70 houses where everyone knows one another.
鈥淵ou get up, and the first thing in the morning is calling your neighbors or your neighbors are calling you to hang out,鈥� Plav拧i膰 said. 鈥淒rink morning coffee together, share 海角社区 from the past day. People are so much closer to one another than they are over here.鈥�
That is just one of many things Plav拧i膰 loves about his hometown and he could not be more proud to be from there.聽
鈥淚f I could use one word it would be amazing,鈥� Plav拧i膰 said about his childhood. 鈥淲henever I go home, I feel so happy and my heart is full, that kids are doing the same things we were doing when we were kids.鈥�
Not long ago, Plav拧i膰 would be going out every day to play with the other kids in his neighborhood, no matter the weather conditions.聽
鈥淚 remember during the winter time, we would just make wooden sticks for our hockey sticks and we would just make a random ball so we could play hockey when it snowed,鈥� Plav拧i膰 said. 鈥淚t was just using your imagination.鈥�
As Plav拧i膰 got older and started to tower over the other kids in his age group, he started to attract the attention of some of the local coaches across all sports.
He and his mom, who played professional basketball in Serbia, were convinced to give hoops a shot.
Plav拧i膰 showed up to his first practice wearing his Cristiano Ronaldo jersey and soccer shoes and vividly remembers being enamored with the skill level of his peers.
鈥淓verybody was doing their thing. They knew all the rules,鈥� Plavsic said. 鈥淭hey knew how to dribble, how not to travel, rebounding, pushing the ball and just hooping. And I was just out there looking at their shoes, being so impressed.鈥�
As time went on, Plav拧i膰 kept improving and putting in the work. He decided to leave his home in Ivanjica and pursue an opportunity to play for Mega Bemax鈥檚 under-18 team in Belgrade, becoming teammates with two-time all star for the Denver Nuggets, Nikola Joki膰.
鈥淚t was a tough transition, but at the same time, my parents were super supportive,鈥� Plav拧i膰 said. 鈥淚 really appreciated my mom and dad for never holding me back from following my dreams. As a kid coming from a small town of ten thousand people to a city of two million, it鈥檚 hard.鈥�
Plav拧i膰 embraced the mental challenges of the move and put all of his efforts toward the hardwood.聽
After his 2015-2016 season in Belgrade, Plav拧i膰鈥檚 physical traits stood out and he was gaining attention from many. He had multiple offers to play professionally in Serbia and an option to play high school ball in the United States.
Plav拧i膰 had heard great things about Hamilton Heights Christian Academy coach Zach Ferrell and ultimately decided to head to Chattanooga, Tenn. to play for him..
After a couple of flights to get to Atlanta and a two hour bus ride to Chattanooga, he was picked up by his new head coach.
Coach Ferrell arrived at the bus station with a couple of Plav拧i膰鈥檚 new teammates in the backseat. The culture shock was instantly apparent for Plav拧i膰.
鈥淭hey were just talking and I didn鈥檛 understand a thing. It was crazy. It was super embarrassing,鈥� Plav拧i膰 said. 鈥淲hat was going through my head was, 鈥楢re they talking about me? Am I funny to them? Are they making fun of me?,鈥� but I knew they weren鈥檛.鈥�
The language barrier turned into one of Plav拧i膰鈥檚 biggest obstacles in the United States. Telling people that he was hungry or asking where the bathroom was became an everyday challenge.
Plav拧i膰 never took any English lessons and just learned on the fly through his communication with people.
One of those people would be coach Ferrell, who Plav拧i膰 lived with throughout his senior season in Chattanooga. Throughout his time there, Plav拧i膰 would develop a special relationship with Ferrell and his family.
鈥淭hey made Chattanooga my second home,鈥� Plav拧i膰 said. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to always look at them as my second family. They basically helped me grow up and taught me some important life lessons.鈥�
As Plav拧i膰 adjusted to life in the United States, he also adjusted on the court. Plav拧i膰 averaged 9.6 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game in his lone high school season, helping lead his team to win the National Association Christian Athletes Championship.聽
Plav拧i膰鈥檚 surging play at the end of the year led to an offer from Arizona State University to play for coach Bobby Hurley, joining a recruiting class that included Luguentz Dort, who currently plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Plav拧i膰 decided to commit to being a Sun Devil during his first visit to Tempe, Ariz.
鈥淣obody from my hometown ever played at a Division I university,鈥� Plav拧i膰 said. 鈥淭here were a lot of people from my hometown that didn鈥檛 believe in me and were saying I cannot make it and that I was not talented enough, not skilled enough, so that was kind of my motivation.鈥�
His freshman year didn鈥檛 go as he planned as he decided to redshirt for his first season. Plav拧i膰 decided to take advantage of the opportunity rather than let it go to waste.
鈥淚 was working on my own game,鈥� Plav拧i膰 said. 鈥淚 was improving every single day on whatever I needed to improve.鈥�
Following his redshirt season in which Plav拧i膰 only got to see three minutes of playtime, it was time to head back to Ivanjica for the summer. In the car heading towards the airport, Plav拧i膰 received a phone call that would change his future.
On the other end of the line was Mike Schwartz, the associate head coach at the University of Tennessee. Throughout that season, Plav拧i膰 admired the Vols from afar as they went 31-6 and won the regular season conference championship.
鈥淎t that moment I was speechless. I didn鈥檛 know what to say,鈥澛� Plav拧i膰 said. 鈥淎t that point, I just felt like who wouldn鈥檛 like to play for Tennessee and coach Barnes?鈥�
Plav拧i膰 decided that Knoxville was the place for him and he would still have four years of eligibility after redshirting. The only obstacle remaining for Plav拧i膰 was the 狈颁础础鈥檚 transfer process.
The transfer rules state that a player that is transferring from one four-year college to another, must complete one academic year of being at the new school before being eligible to compete, unless if there is qualification for a waiver.
Plav拧i膰 was initially denied his waiver to play in his first season in Knoxville, but everyone at the university put in a daily effort filing multiple appeals to try and get him eligible. As he awaited the announcement, he continued to work with his new team.
鈥淚 was preparing every day like I was going to play the next game, because I never knew when the answer was going to come,鈥� Plav拧i膰 said. 鈥淚 was prepared, but at the same time my biggest goal in those practices was to make my teammates better.鈥�
On Jan. 14, 2020, Plav拧i膰 received the news that he was waiting months for: He was eligible to play immediately.
Coach Rich Barnes played him 17 minutes the following night against Georgia, scoring five points and picking up three rebounds.
Plav拧i膰 finished his first season in Knoxville averaging 7.3 minutes per game in the remaining 16 games to finish the season.
Throughout his second year at the University of Tennessee, Plav拧i膰 has only played 36 minutes in 12 games, but his energy and presence is felt by the entire roster whether he is on the court or not.
鈥淓verybody is on the same page. Everybody has the same goal,鈥� Plav拧i膰 said. This is definitely the most unselfish team that I鈥檝e ever been a part of.鈥�
Plav拧i膰 has traveled to many different places throughout his journey and met many different people. The Ivanjica native is lucky enough to have a home in both Tennessee and Serbia.聽聽
鈥淚 have no regrets,鈥� Plav拧i膰 said. 鈥淚 have great people around me. My family is the most important thing to me, I have them. There is nothing I regret, not even a single thing.鈥�
