Lazar Nikolic

Photo by: Joel Broida

Position:
Guard
Height:
6-7
Weight:
205
Class:
Freshman
Hometown:
Belgrade, Serbia
High School:
Stella Azzura Academy, Rome

2017-18 (Freshman): Averaged 2.3 points and 2.3 assists in 31 games as a first-year Buffalo. He was fifth on the team in assists with 30, just under one per game. Nikolic logged nine starts on the season including both games of the Pac-12 Tournament where he averaged 3.5 points and two assists. He scored half of his season's 72 points in the final nine games of the Pac-12 regular season. He made his first collegiate start against New Mexico (12/6) responding with seven points and eight rebounds, both career highs. Following the season, he opted to return to Europe to begin his professional playing career.

Club: Spent four years with Rome's Stella Azzurra Academy in the Series B Italian League. Coached by Germano D'Arcangeli, Nikolic led Stella Azzurra in assists (3.7 apg) and rebounds (7.1 rpg) while ranking second in scoring at 12.0 points per game in 2016-17, earning honorable mention to the Eurobasket.com All-Italian Series B team. He averaged 8.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 2015-16. He was an Italian U20 Championships All-Star in 2017. Played for Serbia's Flash Beograd U17 team in 2012-13.

International: Played for Serbia's U18 National Team that placed 10th at the 2016 European Championships, Division A. He also played on Serbia's U16 National Team in 2014. Averaged 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in seven games at the 2014 European U16 Championships in Latvia. Participated in several Citta di Roma International Junior and Adidas Next Generation Tournaments in Europe. At the 2017 Adidas Next Generation Tournament in his hometown of Belgrade, he averaged 11.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.5 assists in four games, shooting 56 percent. He is the 15th international basketball player for the Buffaloes since the mid-1950's and the seventh in the Boyle era.

Academics: An open option major at Colorado.

Personal: Born Lazar Nikolic on June 23, 1999, in Belgrade, Serbia. He's the son of Dragan and Vesna Nikolic. Has one brother, Milan. He picked Colorado because "it felt like family." Also visited Georgia Tech and had interest from UCLA and Arizona State, among many others.