From Bratislava to Tallahassee, Florida State’s towering Boris Bojanovsky is showing improvement.
In the early part of the new season, the play of Florida State University’s Boris Bojanovsky has shown notable improvement.
The sophomore center doubled his scoring, going from 3 ppg to 6 ppg after a bump up in floor time.
The statistical boost seems negligible in and of itself, but Bojanovsky’s play has suggested something arguably more important for FSU.
“I’m feeling more comfortable in the system,” he said. “I’m getting my chances, and just trying to play my best.”
Even before making the move to Florida State University, Bojanovsky’s game was molded by time spent representing his native Slovakia in the European Championships. He played on three national teams, including a 2011 stint that saw him average 22 ppg and 13.5 rpg for the U18 squad.
“It was a great experience,” said Bojanovsky. Though his squad finished 10th among the 18 competing countries, the young center was in the top tier of several statistical categories. Bojanovsky led the field in field goal percentage, defensive rebounds, blocked shots, field goals made, and double-doubles.
He also got to see his fair share of physical post play. One of the memorable match-ups for Bojanovsky was against Poland’s Przemek Karnowski. FSU’s big man was impressed with the physicality of Karnowski, who is averaging a productive 8.9 ppg and 7.4 rpg as a sophomore at Gonzaga.
Bojanovsky skipped playing in Europe this past summer to focus on school a bit and work on improving his game back in Tallahassee, Florida. It’s that offseason work that has enabled the FSU coaches to put more trust in their big man, which has been reciprocated.
“Coach Hamilton has been doing this for a really long time,” he said. “I trust him and the rest of the coaching staff completely. I know they’ll help me [improve].”
One of his teammates, senior FSU guard Ian Miller, saw Bojanovsky’s potential early on.
“Oh yeah, we saw from his freshman year that he can really be a talent for us in the middle, and that’s what we need.”
As a young player (20 years old), he’s got a ways to go. Bojanovsky still gets visibly frustrated when something goes wrong on the court, but that’s what his teammates are there for.
“I tell him to not worry about mistakes,” added Miller, “to just move on to the next play.”
The Atlantic Coast Conference boasts a history of exceptional big men.
James Worthy, Ralph Sampson, Christian Laetner, Tim Duncan, and David Thompson are some of the more recognizable names in the conference’s respectable all-time list.
Bojanovsky got to face some of the conference’s best men in the middle in his freshman season, battling with the names like Alex Len and Mason Plumlee.
In the nature of a two-titan conference, the ACC championships have been split between two sides of Tobacco Road, with Duke and North Carolina accounting for 14 of the last 17 titles.
That trend may be nearing its end. With the oncoming storm of Notredame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Louisville, future championships look almost certain to be hotly contested.
Bojanovsky hopes to be a big part of that diversification. In fact, he doesn’t care for being remembered the way in the lore of the Duncans, the Worthies, or Thompsons.
“I have no personal goals, other than getting my [International Relations] degree,” he said when asked how he’d like to be remembered. “I want to win something before I leave here, whether it’s an ACC title or national title.
“I just want to win.”
