UConn MBB Secures Two New International Commitments
UConn’s staff keeps adding to the depth of the roster. On Monday, NBA draft guru Jonathon Givony reported 2 new commitments hailing from across the Atlantic Ocean. "With rosters expanding to 15 this year, we look at it as a great opportunity to further roster construction, focusing on growing our team's depth and competitiveness," Dan Hurley said in a statement. "We feel like Rrezon and Uroš help us do that."
Uroš Paunović is a 6’ 4” guard who played for KK Zlatibor in Čajetina, Serbia. He was born in 2003 and is expected to have 2 years of eligibility in the NCAA, per the UConn staff, but they are still awaiting final confirmation from the NCAA. His former team Zlatibor competes in the Serbian KLS basketball league. They finished 2nd in the KLS First League, which qualified them for the Super League playoffs, where they were eliminated in the initial round of 16. They also compete in the Adriatic League’s 2nd division, where they lost in the semi-finals.
Between the two leagues, Uroš played in 45 games, averaging 22 mpg, 8.1 ppg, 2.1 apg, and 2.6 rpg. He shot 32% from three (on close to 3 attempts per game) and 51% on two-point shots, as well as 72% from the free throw line. He often functioned as the team’s 6th man, earning starter level minutes coming off the bench. He had a 0.79 box plus/minus this past year, which ranked 82nd out of 202 players in the KLS and 8th on his team.
He previously played for Dynamic VP of the KLS, and also for Serbia’s U20 team back at the 2022 B Division European Championships, where Serbia won gold, but Uroš had a minor role. He played in 5 of the 7 games scoring 3.2 ppg, but only got 2 minutes out of the group stage.
Rrezon Elezaj is a 7’ 2” center from Kosovo, who spent the 2024-2025 season with Beşiktaş Basketbol in Istanbul, Turkey, playing for their U19 team. He shot 61.5% on two-point shots, and averaged 7.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, and 1.6 bpg this past season. His box plus/minus of -1.76 ranked 95th out of 241 players and 9th on Besiktas. Besiktas won the Turkish U19 championship, and Elezaj scored 10 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench in the championship game. He has been cleared for full NCAA eligibility and will be enrolled as a freshman for UConn this upcoming 2025-2026 season.
Rrezon has also played for Turkey’s youth national team. He averaged 5.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, and 2.0 bpg and shot 42.9% from the floor in close to 18 minutes per game at the 2025 U18 EuroBasket as Turkey finished 8th. Last year he played for Turkey in the U17 World Cup, where Turkey took home the bronze in their home country. He played close to 17 minutes per game off the bench, averaging 6.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, and 0.9 bpg, shooting 51.4% from the floor.