Everything you need to know about 7-foot recruit Aleksa Dimitrijević, who is officially visiting Michigan this weekend
The 7-foot duo of Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin is a big reason why Michigan leads the Big Ten. Their success has caught the attention of 2025 7-footer Aleksa Dimitrijević, who is set to officially visit Michigan later this week.
Let’s break down how he has fared in international play, look into his game and project where he could fit on Michigan’s roster.
Recruiting and international play
As Joe Tipton with On3 reported, Dimitrijević will be visiting Michigan on Friday, Feb. 21, and also plans to visit Creighton and Illinois. He hasn’t said anything in regards to his top list, but those appear to be his top schools since those are the only schools he has scheduled visits with.
“More or less it’s going to be between these three schools,” Dimitrijević’s agent Stevan Petrovic told 247Sports ($). “These schools are deep into the recruiting process with Aleksa and the coaches are talking to him every other day on a weekly basis. I don’t think it’ll be a smart idea for someone else to come in and start the process over because Aleksa already has a good connection with the coaches that are recruiting him.”
Dimitrijević has been playing since he was 11 years old, when his father brought him to practices with his old club in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Like many international big men, he didn’t like basketball at first and preferred soccer. At age 14, he got attention from Serbia’s national team and has been hooping ever since.
Here is Dimitrijević describing his game, which should remind Michigan fans of a certain 7-footer getting NBA Draft buzz.
“All the schools I like don’t play the same style of play, but I can see myself in each system,” he told 247Sports. “I like how the guys play. I’m a five-man who can shoot threes, pick-and-pop. I can roll and defend the rim. I want to be myself wherever I go.”
Representing his home country at FIBA’s U18 Eurobasket in Finland last summer, Dimitrijević averaged 10.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 51.1 percent from two. He did struggle from three, making only 2-of-11 attempts across seven games. He has also averaged 3.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in what was usually 15-25 minutes per game over 14 games as the backup center for the professional club KK Metalac Farmatom Valjevo in Serbian KLS this winter.
Breaking down his game
Aleksa Dimitrijević will officially visit Michigan, Creighton and Illinois put together a very impressive performance at U18s this summer Averaged: 10.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG and 2.1 APG Has Impressive playmaking skills, post game, has the ability to shoot at times, knows how… Show more
Dimitrijević has good hands and finishes well inside, with a 215-pound frame that could use some filling out to avoid being pushed around in the Big Ten. Despite his slight frame, he posts up well, sealing off his defender before finishing with either hand. He’s more of a back-to-the-basket player in the post, utilizing drop steps to get buckets or a deep seal for a lob.
He is really effective in the pick-and-roll, and can also play make out of the short rolls, which is becoming more and more important for modern bigs.
Dimitrijević can finish by driving to the rim off the closeout, but he has a clunky handle and needs a bit more practice with the ball in his hands. That said, he’s got a good-looking three-point stroke. Passing-wise, he’s not Danny Wolf — a high bar to clear, to be fair — but he has good basketball IQ, passes out of double teams, and can find cutters with the ball in the mid-range.
His foot speed and on-ball defense needs improvement, but he has the length to make up for it, blocking defenders who blow by him in the recovery. He’s a decent rim protector with good instincts on help-side.
Dimitrijević is far from a finished product, but there’s a lot to like about his game, especially the offensive upside.
Where he could fit in Michigan’s rotation
Michigan pursuing Dimitrijević makes sense when looking at this roster. Goldin is out of eligibility at season’s end, and Wolf could easily leave with his draft stock steadily rising.
Assuming they’re both gone after this season, that leaves Will Tschetter — who feels like a lock to stay with one year left of eligibility — as Michigan’s lone big man. If he commits to Michigan, Dimitrijević could slide in as a high-upside backup next season.
How he looks on Michigan’s roster beyond that depends on how quickly his frame fills out and how comfortable he gets offensively. It’s easy to envision him eventually taking the Wolf role and thriving in the pick-and-roll, but becoming a reliable, playmaking 7-footer is not an overnight deal.
Dimitrijević needs to develop, but he would complete Michigan’s impressive 2025 class, alongside five-star Trey McKenney and four-stars Winters Grady and Oscar Goodman.
