Quick Facts
Biography
Nikola Rakićević (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Ракићевић; born January 14, 1997) is a Serbian basketball player who currently plays for the Buffalo Bulls of the NCAA Division I Mid-American Conference.
Early life
Rakićević played basketball for the youth teams of Crvena zvezda from 2012 to 2015. He was a member of the Crvena zvezda U18 team that won the 2014 Euroleague Next Generation Tournament.
College career
Freshman season
As a freshman, Rakićević appeared in 20 games at the State University of New York at Buffalo in their 2015–16 season. On November 13, 2015, he recorded a career-best seven rebounds in the season opener against Pitt-Bradford. On December 29, he scored a career-high 14 points and added five rebounds against Delaware.
Sophomore season
Rakićević appeared in 21 in the Bulls' 2016–17 season before missing the final three games and the conference tournament due to a season-ending injury. He made three starts on the year and tied his career high with 14 points at Kent State as he went 6-of-11 from floor. He had eight points against Ohio and scored four points in seven of his 21 games. He averaged 2.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.
International career
Rakićević was a member of the Serbian U-16 national basketball team that won the silver medal at the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship in Ukraine. Over seven tournament games, he averaged 6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Also, he was a member of the Serbian U-17 national team that won the bronze medal at the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Dubai, UAE. Over seven tournament games, he averaged 12.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. At the tournament's end he got selected to All-Tournament Team.
Career achievements and Awards
Youth level
- Euroleague Next Generation Tournament champion: 2014
- Euroleague Next Generation Tournament runner-up: 2015
College
- Mid-American Conference champion: 2016
- Individual
- Mid-American Conference All-Academic First team: 2016–17
Serbian national team
- 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship: 02 !
Silver - 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship: 03 !
Bronze
Silver
Bronze- Individual
- 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship All-Tournament Team
Personal life
Rakićević is born in Smederevska Palanka, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia, to Saša and Jasmina. He has one sister.