Headed home: Filip Rebraca inks first professional contract
One of Iowa’s key cogs over the past two seasons has his first professional contract. Filip Rebraca is heading home after signing with Borac Mozzart of the AdmiralBet ABA League.
Borac Mozzart is a professional team in Čačak, Serbia. The team ended last season with a 7-19 mark in the ABA standings.
Naturally, adding Rebraca to the equation should be an immediate boon for Borac Mozzart. The 6-foot-9, 230 pound forward from Sombor, Serbia, has been terrific for Iowa each of the last two years.
OFFICIAL: @FRebraca will be hitting the court in Čačak after signing a deal with @BoracKlub
More: https://t.co/CAsevY8KEc#ABALiga pic.twitter.com/vrjcsiHa9D
— AdmiralBet ABA League (@ABA_League) August 4, 2023
Rebraca played in and started each of the Iowa Hawkeyes‘ 69 games over the past two seasons. After arriving as a transfer from North Dakota, Rebraca morphed into one of the Hawkeyes’ most important pieces.
The Serbian product averaged 5.8 points and 5.6 rebounds during Iowa’s 26-10 (16-8 Big Ten) finish during the 2021-22 season. Alongside Keegan and Kris Murray, Jordan Bohannon, Patrick McCaffery, and Tony Perkins, Rebraca helped guide Iowa to its third all-time Big Ten Tournament title and the program’s first since 2006.
Then, after Keegan Murray and Bohannon moved on, Rebraca was asked to take on a larger role. Rebraca responded by upping his averages to 14.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Both of those marks ranked second on the Hawkeyes’ squad last season. Thanks to his big contributions, Iowa finished with a 19-14 (11-9 Big Ten) mark and captured its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth.
Ahead of its first-round NCAA Tournament date versus Auburn, Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery discussed how Rebraca helped replace the production the Hawkeyes lost after Keegan Murray was selected No. 4 overall by the Sacramento Kings.
“Coming into the season, we thought we could be a good team. But, you know, we lost a lot from last year, he was the fourth pick. You lose a guy that scored 2,000 points. We lost quite a bit. And other people had to step up in different roles, and they did that. And Filip Rebraca I think took his game to a whole new level which was critical to our success. One of the main reasons why we are here,” McCaffery said of Rebraca.
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