|
| What George Bugarinovic does
off the floor sounds very Johns Hopkins: cellular and genetic
research. What he has done on the floor for the Blue Jays is pretty
impressive as well. Johns Hopkins athletics photo |
By Rob Knox
D3sports.com
Johns Hopkins junior forward George Bugarinovic has his eyes on something bigger and more impactful than basketball.
Bugarinovic’s goal is to develop a cure for Treacher Collins Syndrome, a hereditary condition that is passed down through families and leads to problems with the structure of the face. It is found in about one in 50,000 births.
“I was doing cellular and genetic research on that this past summer,” Bugarinovic said. “It’s when a baby is born with craniofacial abnormalities and kind of deformed. I’ve learned and seen a few people that have that disorder in my experiences. Getting to research it and learn what causes it from a genetic side was an amazing experience. Hopefully, I am able to find a cure.”
The 6-foot-5 Bugarinovic spent parts of the last three summers interning at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in the cancer research lab, Kansas University Medical Center and Stowers Medical Research Institute studying many aspects of the vast field of medical research and shadowing various doctors. Those experiences helped Bugarinovic want to learn more and do everything he could to cure Treacher Collins Syndrome once he finishes his basketball career.
If there’s one thing about Bugarinovic, when he sets his mind to something, he’ll most likely achieve it. So don’t be surprised if he achieves his goal. Medicine, research and basketball are three things in which Bugarinovic is passionate about.
While finding a cure will take some time and some additional research, the immediate future for Bugarinovic includes discovering a way to solve Virginia Wesleyan (22-6 overall) this weekend in a NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament game in the Batten Center on Friday night at 8 p.m.
The Blue Jays (17-10) have an opportunity this weekend to knock off one of the Division III gold standards. Bugarinovic was named tournament MVP after leading Johns Hopkins to its first Centennial Conference tournament title since 2007 and he is looking to create more memories to what has already been an enjoyable career at Johns Hopkins.
Hopkins was 4-6 at one point following a challenging non-conference schedule. The Blue Jays got up off the mat and rebounded to win 13 of their last 17 games. Two of the teams Hopkins lost to this season are playing each other in the first game of the Virginia Wesleyan pod, Alvernia (20-7) and 10th-ranked Wesley (23-3) at 5:30 p.m. Friday. Despite the tough start to the season and two regular season setbacks to Centennial regular season champion Dickinson, Bugarinovic always believed that the Blue Jays would be dancing in March.
“We knew we had a tough non-conference schedule and we had a new assistant coach who changed a little of our defensive principles so we knew that would take some time to adjust,” Bugarinovic said. “We always had confidence even when we were 4-6 because we had a talented team and we knew if we kept working that we could have a successful season.”
Born in Belgrade, Serbia, Bugarinovic came to Overland Park, Kan., when his parents emigrated from Serbia while he was eight months old. He’s visited his hometown often over the years, staying two to three months at a time.
“When I got here to the states and got into basketball, I started following the Sacramento Kings because they had Peja Stojaković and Vlade Divac, both of whom are Serbian guys who became my idols,” Bugarinovic said. “I fell in love with the sport and played it my whole life. I decided later in high school that I wanted to pursue the medical field and Hopkins ended up providing the best of both worlds. It’s been an amazing experience so far.”
In addition to learning the game in America, Bugarinovic also honed his skills overseas while playing in tournaments for his club team, KK Best, in places like France and Nice. He also traveled throughout Europe playing hoops, which helped grow his game.
Before he could matriculate at Johns Hopkins, Bugarinovic had to conquer his toughest opponent, one more fearsome than anything he faced on the basketball court: His mother, Juliana. She was hesitant about allowing him to travel 1,090 miles to Baltimore for college.
Fortunately for Bugarinovic, he had some support in the form of his mother’s co-workers, who when they heard of his desire to attend Johns Hopkins gave ringing endorsements.
Once Bugarinovic’s mother heard all the praise about Johns Hopkins and the opportunities that it offered both academically and athletically, she was on board with the decision. She may have helped him pack up the car. With two younger sisters, Deanna and Stephanie, he is the first member of the family to be educated in the United States and it’s something that he embraces.
“It’s pretty cool for me to be the first one in my family to be educated here in the United States,” Bugarinovic said. “My parents went to college in Serbia but didn’t have an idea of how the whole college recruiting process would go and how it worked here in the states. Basketball was a great venue to help me get noticed and the fact Hopkins was interested in me was a great coincidence. I ended up here to hopefully lead the way for my two sisters. I think my freshman year was harder on my mom than it was for me.”
At least Bugarinovic had basketball to help ease his transition into college.
He made an immediate impact for the Blue Jays, averaging 10.1 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game as a freshman. Last year as a sophomore, he increased his scoring average to 12.1 points per outing and raised his rebounds to 7.1 per game.
This year, the two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection has played a crucial role in helping the Blue Jays earn their 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2007. He was also named an All-Centennial Conference selection for the third time in his career Wednesday. He is also the fourth player in program history to earn All-CC honors at least three times.
In addition to Bugarinovic’s 12.5 point per game average, the Blue Jays also feature junior Jimmy Hammer, who leads the team in scoring at 13.9 points per game. Bugarinovic leads the Blue Jays with 6.9 rebounds per game and is shooting 57.1 percent from the field. Senior Daniel Corbett is handing out 2.89 assists per game while grabbing 1.37 steals while starting all 27 games in the backcourt. Senior Connor McIntyre is second on the team with 4.4 boards per contest and leads the team and Centennial Conference in blocks per game with 2.4.
“I know it’s a cliché, but he’s a coaches’ dream,” said Johns Hopkins coach Bill Nelson, the winningest coach in program history with a record of 447-284 (.611) in his 28 years. “His work-ethic is fantastic. He drives to the basket extremely well. He comes from a great family. Sometimes they’ll hop in their van and drive all night from Kansas. I have a feeling they’ll be there this weekend. They surprised him at Dickinson the other night. One of his biggest improvements is doing a better of job of letting the game come to him. Sometimes he got a little out of control, only because he tries to do a little too much.”
With another year remaining at Hopkins, Bugarinovic is already tied for ninth in program history in rebounds (526) and blocked shots (74), ninth in defensive rebounds (371) and sixth in double-doubles (14). He has 914 career points and is 19th on the all-time scoring list entering this weekend.
When Bugarinovic isn’t doing medical research or playing basketball, he can usually be found sleeping, playing video games or hanging with his friends. He’s a dean's list student majoring in public health with a minor in entrepreneurship and management. Bugarinovic is also a member of the Johns Hopkins SAAC.
He’s excited for the chance to compete against Virginia Wesleyan, 2006 NCAA national champions. However, he’s happy that he’s a member of the team that helped Hopkins return to its rightful place: The NCAA tournament. He may be a huge Kansas hoops fan, but he appreciates and understands the revered history of Hopkins basketball.
“Being in this position is a huge testament to coach Nelson and our coaches who inspire confidence in us all the time,” Bugarinovic said. “Every single guy on the team has worked hard to make this happen. It’s amazing to be part of the team that helped get Johns Hopkins back into the NCAA tournament. We have alumni weekend and we see the past greats from Johns Hopkins basketball and they share many stories with us. Hearing them speak with us every year definitely motivates you to do everything possible to get to that level.”
Who knows – in a few years when alumni weekend rolls around, Bugarinovic could have some amazing tales to share, which could include how he cured Treacher Collins Syndrome and helped Hopkins record a first-round victory in the NCAA Tournament.