« Men’s Basketball 2019-20

DJ Vasiljevic

School
Miami
Position
Guard
Major
Graduate sport administration program

Classroom

A stellar student, DJ Vasiljevic earned his bachelor’s degree from Miami in just three years after majoring in management and minoring in economics. Vasiljevic is now enrolled in graduate school at Miami, where he is studying sport administration. Vasiljevic, who sports a GPA over 3.0, has picked up a number of academic honors during his college tenure. The senior guard was named to the 2017-18 All-ACC Academic Team and to the 2018-19 ACC Academic Honor Roll. He garnered Book Buster Club (3.0+ GPA) in half of his undergraduate semesters and once received Athletic Director’s Honor Roll (3.2+ GPA) status. Vasiljevic is undoubtedly a hard-working student who cares about his academics.

Character

A standout on the hardwood and in the classroom, Vasiljevic leads by example and consistently sets the tone for others on how to act. He is an ideal student-athlete in the way he carries himself, treats others, works hard on his game and puts in time to his academics. Vasiljevic has devoted a great deal of time to community service and campus initiatives as both a Miami Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) member and through his own accord. He is a multi-year team captain who ascended into that role first as a sophomore in 2017-18 when he helped the Hurricanes reach a third straight NCAA Tournament. No matter who you ask about Vasiljevic—from his coaches, to his teammates to faculty to staff—rave reviews about him will follow. It is clear that Vasiljevic does this the right way and sets the right example on a daily basis.

Community

Vasiljevic has not only been a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) member at Miami for three years, but he has also taken an active role and served as an example for his peers. He has been involved in numerous community service initiatives at Miami and in the local community during that time. Vasiljevic has been an active pen pal with students at a local elementary school for three years and went to that same school to read to students in 2018. Over the past two years, he has volunteered at the Boys & Girls Club and worked with Best Buddies, an organization where adults with intellectual disabilities come to campus to spend time playing games and activities with volunteers. In each of the past three years, Vasiljevic has collected and donated clothes to the Miami Rescue Mission. He aided with Hurricane Dorian relief in 2019, communicating what was needed to his teammates and coordinating the delivery of those items. On the UM campus, Vasiljevic was an admissions ambassador in 2018-19 and he volunteered at the Orange Fest (an event celebrating the University’s history and traditions) in both 2017 and 2018. Overall, it is evident that Vasiljevic has made a clear effort to give back to those around him and use his platform as a Division I basketball player to help others.

Competition

One of the best 3-point shooters in Miami history, Vasiljevic enters his senior season with the eighth-most makes (199) all-time by a Hurricane. He also places No. 14 on the 3-point percentage list with a 37.5 clip. His 92 threes in ACC play are the fifth-most at Miami and his 34.1 percent mark from long range in league action ranks No. 11 among Hurricanes. In 2017-18, Vasiljevic posted a 41.1 percent 3-point mark on the season to lead the ACC, becoming the fifth Hurricane to pace the league. He has 862 points in three seasons and is closing in on joining the 1,000-point club with the potential to move into the top 25 on the program’s all-time list. The 6-foot-3-inch guard has increased his scoring output each season, going from 6.0 points per game as a freshman to 9.0 as a sophomore and then to 11.8 as a junior. Over the past two seasons, he put together a stretch of 33 straight games with a made 3-pointer. It was the longest active span in the ACC at the time, as well as third-longest ever by a Hurricane and top-20 all-time in the ACC. Vasiljevic has improved nearly every aspect of his game during his tenure at Miami, including his rebounding. He has proved this with his play, evidenced by his double-double in 2019 against Notre Dame. He has played 40-plus minutes multiple times and is a reliable performer for the Hurricanes, helping Miami to 57 wins and two NCAA Tournament berths in his first three years.