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About Filip Petrusev
• Filip Petrusev is a polished center who built on his body of work at Gonzaga by adding a reliable jumper to his repertoire as he established himself as the best young player in the Adriatic League with Mega Basket. Emerging as one of the top 2000-born prospects in Europe early in his career, Petrusev started high school in the United States back in 2016 while spending his summers competing for his native Serbia in FIBA youth competitions. Heading to Gonzaga to play for Mark Few, the Belgrade native was efficient in a small role as a true freshman but averaged 17.5 points and 7.9 points in his breakout sophomore campaign to earn WCC Player of the Year honors. Moving to Serbian club Mega Basket last summer, Petrusev was named ABA League Most Valuable Player averaging 23 points and 7.6 rebounds.
• A skilled 7-foot center with a mature 235-pound frame and average length, Petrusev combines good mobility with great coordination and instincts.
• Emerging as a viable inside-outside scorer this season, Petrusev displayed the same patience and feel when posting up and finishing that made him exceptionally effective around the rim at Gonzaga, but showed significant growth as a pick and pop threat and set shooter to add a significant dimension to his game. Filling a huge role for Mega Basket, Petrusev finished the 2020-21 season ranked among the most efficient volume scorers in ABA League history.
• Spending time guarding both frontcourt positions in recent seasons, Petrusev looked more comfortable as an individual defender in the post than on the perimeter. He showed some timing as a rim protector and instincts on the glass, but did not provide a consistent presence around the rim defensively.
Advanced Stats
• Finishing the season with one of the top-5 scoring averages in the history of the ABA League, Petrusev was the focus of a great deal of what a young Mega Basket team looked to accomplish on the offensive end. Doing much of his damage as a screener, but contributing in the post, as a floor spacer, and with his activity level as well, Petrusev was exceptionally efficient for how many different ways he got involved on the offensive end.
• Averaging a remarkable 1.42 points per roll man possession [95th percentile], Petrusev’s combination of instincts, polish as an interior scorer, and improvement as a jump shooter made him extremely effective as a screener.
• A patient, steady finisher with deft touch operating over his left shoulder, Petrusev averaged 1.50 points per shot around the rim in the half court [95th percentile] and 1.08 points per Post Up possession [70th percentile]. Able to catch an occasional lob, put the ball on the floor a bit, and finds ways to create angles with good footwork, he thrived inside in the ABA League.
• His development as a shooter was even more encouraging. After attempting only handful of three-pointers over two seasons at the collegiate level, Petrusev scored 1.15 points per jump shot in the half court [86th percentile] last season. He has a somewhat deliberate release, but proved very reliable in space.
• Among the more polished scorers among big men in that draft, Petrusev nonetheless has some room to grow scoring with his left hand and finding the open man more consistently when rolling to the rim.
Defensive Analysis
• Possessing the size to hold his own one-on-one on the block, Petrusev allowed 0.62 points per post up possession [86th percentile]. He showed the ability to use verticality as a rim protector when the action came to him but did not rotate to challenge shots prolifically last season.
• While Petrusev has solid feet, he appeared more comfortable defending inside than on the perimeter in the ABA League.
— Profile by Synergy Sports
