April 10, 2002

Chicago, Ill. - On the first signing day of the spring period, the UIC men's basketball team inked 6-foot-9 forward Jovan Stefanov of Leesburg, Fla., to a National Letter of Intent.

The Flames are awaiting the return of other letters, but are unable to make any announcements per NCAA guidelines.

Stefanov, a foreign exchange student from Serbia, has played just one year of basketball in the United States, but he made the 2002 campaign at Tavares High School in Tavares, Fla., an impressive one.

The lanky forward, who can shoot from the perimeter and handle the ball, became an instant hero with the Bulldog faithful this season as he led the team to a 23-5 record, averaging 20 points and eight rebounds per game while shooting nearly 60% from the field.

"Jovan is a top student and a great athlete," UIC Head Coach Jimmy Collins said of latest recruit. "He is a 6-9 perimeter player with skills to go inside or outside, and penetrate as well. He is a long player, who will be able to defend well."

Unfortunately for Stefanov, he was forced to miss the Florida state playoffs after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee late in the regular season. Stefanov has had surgery on the knee and will fully healed when practice opens for the Flames in October of 2002.

Despite his injury limiting the finish of his career, Stefanov's stellar season still helped him earn both All-Area and All-State honors from the Orlando Journal Sentinel and a spot in the Lake County Senior All-Star Game.

Stefnov now joins two other foreign players in 6-foot-8 Richard Lesko (Danville CC) of Slovakia and 6-foot-10 Josip Petrusic (Treasure Valley CC) of Croatia, both of whom were inked by UIC in the early signing period, as newcomers for the 2002-03 season.