NC State men's basketball hires Ogi Vasiljević as assistant coach
NC State men’s basketball coach Justin Gainey hired Ogi Vasiljević as a full-time assistant coach while he builds out his inaugural coaching staff in Raleigh, the program announced Tuesday afternoon.
Vasiljević spent the past season as an assistant coach/director of basketball operations at South Alabama. He helped the Jaguars to a second place finish in the Sun Belt regular season standings, while the squad turned in a 21-12 overall record with an NIT appearance.
Before his time in Mobile, Ala., Vasiljević worked at NAIA Life University in the Southern States Athletic Conference for four seasons. He started as a graduate assistant before being elevated to assistant coach for the final three seasons of his tenure.
Vasiljević was key in developing NAIA All-American Chaze Harris, who averaged 19.7 points, 6.9 assists, 6.6 rebounds and 2.1 steals with a 59 percent shooting mark during the 2024-25 season at Life. He followed Vasiljević to South Alabama, where he continued his production as one of two players in all of Division I to average 19.0-plus points, 4.5-plus rebounds and 4.5-plus assists on 50 percent shooting — joined by Duke’s Cameron Boozer in accomplishing that feat.
Before his time at Life, Vasiljević started his coaching career as an assistant at Ohio Valley University, his alma mater. Vasiljević played college basketball at D-II University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, where he helped the team make two NCAA Tournament appearances before transferring to Ohio Valley.
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A native of Loznica, Serbia, Vasiljević helped his home country earn silver and bronze medals medal finishes in the EuroBasket U16 Championships.
Vasiljević could bring those European ties to NC State, a program that is looking to tap into the international ranks in recruiting as those have become more popular over the past half decade.
In addition to Vasiljević’s hiring, NC State also made Matt Holt’s addition as the program’s director of scouting official. TheWolfpacker.com first reported that news in April.