Purdue's Sasha Stefanovic Excited to Compete in 3-Point Contest in New Orleans
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – For the better part of a year now, Purdue guard Sasha Stefanovic has been looking forward to going to New Orleans this week. The preferred destination was the Final Four, of course, and even though the Boilermakers came up short of their goal, Stefanovic is on his way to Bourbon Street anyway.
Stefanovic has been selected to compete in the State Farm 3-Point Championships on Thursday night in New Orleans as part of the Final Four festivities. And he'll see a lot of familiar faces in the eight-man field, including Iowa's Jordan Bohannon, Wisconsin's Brad Davison and Illinois' Alfonso Plummer.
"After we got back from Philly, I went home to Crown Point for a couple of days and I was out having dinner with my girlfriend when they called and invited me to compete,'' Stefanovic said Tuesday. "I thought it was great. It's going to be nice to represent Purdue one more time, and it's great that there are so many other Big Ten guys there. It'll be nice to do battle with them one more time.''
The 33rd annual event featured men's and women's three-point shooting contests and a men's slam-dunk contest. The event starts at 9 p.m. ET, and is televised on ESPN.
Highs and lows, I’ve loved it all. Thank you to everyone who has made my time here special 🚂 Forever a Boiler 💛🖤 pic.twitter.com/dZ3m1c8pQe
— Sasha Stefanovic (@stefanovicsasha) March 28, 2022
It's Stefanovic's final college event after spending five years at Purdue. Stefanovic said a month ago on our Sasha Live! podcast that he wasn't returning to Purdue for a sixth year, even though he could have. He's ready to move on, looking to play professionally next year, either in the U.S. over overseas.
"I'm cycling through talking to agents now. I talked to one today and I'll talk to a few more in New Orleans,'' Stefanovic said. "And then we'll take it from there. It's kind of weird after all these years at Purdue where you always knew what came next to going into all of this, where you have no idea what comes next.''
Purdue's Sasha Stefanovic tells me that he will pursue a professional career and will not use his additional year of eligibility.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 28, 2022
This year, Stefanovic helped the Boilermakers go 29-8 and advance to the Sweet 16. He averaged 10.4 points per game, 3.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 38.0 percent from long distance. His 87 made three-pointers were the third-most in the Big Ten and the ninth-most in a season in school history. He finished his career with 226 trifectas, the seventh-most in Purdue history. He finished his career with 980 career points, 270 rebounds and 242 assists while playing in 128 career games with 80 starts.
He scored over 20 points four times as a senior, including a career-high 23 points against both North Carolina and Bellarmine. He would add 22 points against Illinois and Northwestern. He made at least four 3-pointers in eight games as a senior, including a season-best six against Northwestern.
Some of the name announced so far include:
- Sasha Stefanovic, Purdue
- Alex O'Connell, Creighton
- Davion Mintz, Kentucky
- Alfonso Plummer, Illinois
- Drake Jeffries, Wyoming
- Jordan Bohannon, Iowa
- Brad Davison, Wisconsin
Stefanovic said the stunning end to their season last Friday in a 67-64 loss to Saint Peter's still hasn't sunk in.
"I was just numb that night, I really was,'' he said. "It's just a hard way for a season to end, because we definitely felt like we should have won that game. This is such a great group of guys, and it was so much fun playing with them.
"It's weird that it's over. It's almost been boring the last few days because you just don't have anything to get ready for. You see the guys in the gym and you just shake your head, that it's all over. It all just ended so abruptly.''
Stefanovic flies down to New Orleans on Wednesday, and he's looking forward to it. One last fun night on the court in a Purdue jersey.
"Those guys, like Bohannon and Davison, we've been going at it against each other forever,'' Stefanovic said. "It'll be good to see those guys and compete against them. It'll be fun.''
Related stories on Purdue basketball
- THOMPSON ENTERS PORTAL: Purdue junior guard Isaiah Thompson announced Monday his decision to enter the transfer portal for the 2022-23 season. He averaged 4.2 points, 1.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game this season for the Boilermakers. CLICK HERE
- WHAT MATT PAINTER SAID AFTER NCAA TOURNAMENT RUN: Purdue basketball lost to Saint Peter's 67-64 in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Here's everything coach Matt Painter had to say during the postgame press conference following the loss. CLICK HERE
- WHAT PURDUE PLAYERS SAID AFTER NCAA TOURNAMENT RUN: Purdue basketball lost to Saint Peter's 67-64 in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Here's everything Sasha Stefanovic, Eric Hunter Jr. and Trevion Williams had to say during the postgame press conference following the loss. CLICK HERE
Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who's worked at some America's finest newspapers, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Indianapolis Star. He also owns the book publishing company, Hilltop30 Publishing Group, and he has written four books and published 16 others.