Florida freshman PG Urban Klavžar, ex-Slovenian pro, cleared by NCAA to join basketball team

Basketball

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Image Credit: ESPNI

Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden brought in Urban Klavžar, a former Slovenian professional basketball player, as an under-the-radar move this offseason. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound point guard, who played professionally overseas for three years, missed Florida’s first three games while awaiting approval from the NCAA Eligibility Center, which Golden said Thursday the Gators have now received.

As such, Klavžar has received clearance to suit up in orange and blue for the first time this Friday as No. 20 Florida opens its power conference slate at Florida State.

Klavžar, 20, played for Real Madrid, UCAM Murica CB and CD Estela in Spain. Last season with Cantabria, in Spain’s second league, he averaged 8.9 points and 1.5 assists while hitting 47.7% of his shots from the floor, 42.7% from 3-point range and 83.3% from the free-throw line in 18.3 minutes per game.

Rated as a three-star prospect and the No. 24 PG in Class of 2025 by 247Sports, Klavžar enrolled at Florida in August and has proven to be a model student and teammate, according to Golden, who had been recruiting Klavžar since arriving at UF.

“Listen, the guy deserves to play college basketball. That’s just how I feel. Great kid, great student,” Golden said earlier this month. “… I understand a lot of the rules and legislation that’s in place –and the reason why it is — but this guy deserves to play college athletics. There’s no benefit with him not being able to play for Florida. It’s not a disadvantage to somebody else. He’s done all the academic work to be admitted into a place like Florida, and now, I think he deserves the right to play.”

Klavžar will primarily help the Gators as a reserve behind senior PG Walter Clayton Jr. He should help move the offense, execute the pick and roll and hit deep shots, an area in which Florida has struggled despite its 3-0 start to the season.