Stoney Creek鈥檚 Nikola Djogo enjoying triumphant year at Northeastern
STONEY CREEK, Ontario — Saltfleet Secondary School located in Stoney Creek, Ontario, has seen plenty of talented hoopers walk through their doors. However, there鈥檚 perhaps none greater than Northeastern鈥檚 own Nikola Djogo.
Djogo attended Saltfleet for his freshman through junior season before transferring to Athlete Institute Prep for his final year of prep competition. During his junior season with 鈥楾he Storm鈥�, he helped lead them to the 鈥楢AA鈥� Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations Championship averaging 18 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists per game.
Nikola Djogo was a 3-star athlete coming out of high school but despite several NCAA offers, he saw Notre Dame as the best location for him to pursue his goals. Djogo鈥檚 coach at Notre Dame, Mike Brey, even spoke on the young Stoney Creek native鈥檚 unique skill set as soon as he stepped on campus back in 2017.
鈥淗e鈥檚 more of a wing, run-the-floor, slashing, and his stroke is good too. He鈥檚 really athletic. He plays better defense than we realized. He鈥檚 learning how to get an edge playing around a bunch of edgy guys.鈥�
Even while this high praise didn鈥檛 necessarily result in immediate minutes for Djogo, he was able to earn a respectable role in the rotation over the next three seasons with the Fighting Irish.
After sitting out the 2016-17 season to preserve a year of eligibility, he officially made his debut for Notre Dame in an early-season matchup against Mount St. Mary鈥檚 on Nov. 13, 2017. Although, outside of a few striking performances, he only saw sporadic playing time and was never truly able to gain any form of consistency throughout the remainder of the season.
Coming into his sophomore year, Djogo saw an increased role off the bench following season-ending injuries to senior Rex Plueger and freshman Robby Carmody which garnered the young combo-guard more playing time, as well as a sizable presence within the locker room.
That was until Nikola went down with a shoulder injury in a heated contest against Virginia Tech in February 2019. An MRI later revealed a torn labrum that would force Djogo to miss the rest of the season.
Despite making it back to full strength for the 2019-20 season, he remained somewhat limited in terms of playing time and dropped back down into Mike Brey鈥檚 rotation yet again. His job primarily was to come into games for a few minutes while more prominent Notre Dame players got a little rest.
Luckily, he was able to rebound in his final year with the Irish, upping his stats and even becoming the team captain for the 2020-21 campaign. He showcased numerous impressive outings, including solid finishes against Miami on Feb. 14, as well as in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in March.
Which is why his decision to leave the place he had called home for the last four years came as a shock to everyone.
Djogo had not only paved his way into the starting lineup, but he had also earned the Notre Dame Team Irish Award in 2020 and was on the ACC Academic Honor Roll for each of his four years with the team.
Although, despite clawing his way into the rotation at Notre Dame, he saw a far greater opportunity elsewhere and officially entered the transfer portal in March 2021 eventually opting to take his talents out East and sign on with the Colonial Athletic Association鈥檚 Northeastern Huskies.
The decision was one that did not come lightly to Djoko, and one that he spoke about in great depth during with Eskandy Sports on Nov. 6, 2021.
鈥淚 always wanted to come back to Notre Dame for my 5th year because school has always been an important factor to any of my decisions and they have a great MBA program at Notre Dame,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut then when I heard that I was going to get another year back because of COVID, I thought about maybe coming back to Notre Dame. But everything that I wanted to do at ND I had already accomplished, so I wanted to go to a school that valued me a little more as a player, and where I could contribute a little more than I was at Notre Dame. And with Northeastern, I knew the coach from high school and thought it would be the perfect fit. So, it just made sense.鈥�
In his four years at Notre Dame, Nikola Djogo never averaged more than 19 minutes per outing, somewhat limiting his ability to make an impact on the outcome of games. However, already in his first season with Northeastern, he鈥檚 improved on all of his averages. Locking in 29.6 minutes per contest along with 10.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, two assists, and 1.4 steals in just seven games played this season (six of which he has started in).
While there were many doubts following his transfer decision last April, it appears as though Djogo is well on his way to leading the Huskies to a strong finish in 2021-22. Not only is the team currently sitting atop the Colonial Athletic Association at 7-4, but they鈥檙e also undefeated in conference play and carry one of the deepest rotations in the entire CAA. Listed at 6-foot-8, 230 pounds, Djogo has immense potential to take Northeastern deep into CAA Championship contention this season and punch a ticket into the NCAA Tournament.
Now a graduate student for the Huskies, after graduating from Notre Dame with a degree in business and majoring in management consulting, Djogo, whose parents escaped to Canada in the 1990s during the Civil War in the former Yugoslavia, has emerged as a role model for young players growing up north of the border, both on and off the court.
There鈥檚 no question that Nikola Djogo has come a long way from his humble beginnings in Stoney Creek, Ontario. So, regardless of where he ends up, his story is one that will live on in lore for fellow Canadians.
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