A Full Timeline of Uros Plavsic’s Battle for Eligibility at Tennessee

Tennessee redshirt freshman Uros Plavsic’s battle for eligibility with the Vols has been a lengthy one. Jacob Boughter provides the latest insight on the big man’s battle with the NCAA.

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes provided an update on redshirt freshman Uros Plavsic’s current situation on Thursday.

Plavsic, the talented Serbian big man, was ruled ineligible by the NCAA after he transferred from Arizona State to Tennessee in May.

With Santiago Vescovi starring for the Vols after recently joining the team, chants of “Free Uros” have returned to Rocky Top. 

Many have wondered what sort of impact the talented center could bring the team and dreamed of the potential pick-and-roll combination Vescovi and Plavsic could bring to Thompson-Boling Arena.

Here is a full, detailed timeline of Plavsic’s journey to Tennessee:

Oct. 2017 – Plavsic moves from Ivanjica, Serbia to Chattanooga. He joins the Hamilton Heights Christian Academy basketball team, where he plays his senior season and averages 9.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. At this time, Plavsic is verbally committed to Cleveland State due to his close relationship with assistant coach Drazen Zlovaric.

March 2018 – Zlovaric leaves Cleveland State.

April 26, 2018 – Plavsic flips his commitment from Cleveland State to Arizona State.

Sept. 11, 2018 – Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley adds Zlovaric to his coaching staff. Meanwhile, Plavsic redshirts his freshman season at ASU.

April 20, 2019 – Arizona State announces that Zlovaric will not return to their staff.

April 22, 2019 – Plavsic announces that he is entering the transfer portal after Zlovaric’s departure.

May 17, 2019 – Plavsic commits to Tennessee.

June 27, 2019 – Rick Barnes tells the media that he expects Plavsic to be eligible to play during the 2019-20 season. According to Barnes, this is because he redshirted his freshman year at ASU and because Zlovaric is no longer on the Arizona State coaching staff.

Nov. 5, 2019 – Plavsic is ruled ineligible for the 2019-20 season.

“We’re all disappointed and somewhat surprised, to be frank,” Barnes told reporters after the news broke. “We were shocked by it. Uros has done nothing wrong. He’s done everything he was told to do.”

Nov. 27, 2019 – Plavsic receives a waiver from the NCAA allowing him to travel with his teammates for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.

Jan. 9, 2020 – Rick Barnes updates reporters on the current situation with Plavsic. He says that if Plavsic isn’t cleared to play within a couple of weeks, he will likely sit the rest of the season out.

“I don’t know… We hope in a week maybe or week and a half,” Barnes said. “If it gets beyond that, it probably won’t be worth playing him in terms of him losing a year. That would be left up to him, but we don’t know anything.”