Another Canuck doing well at Carroll

Ron Bailey, Publisher

January 12, 2008 – Archbishop Carroll High School (Wash., DC) is becoming a destination for snow birds so to speak, but not the avian variety, or even retirees from the northern most reaches of America, traveling south to escape the winter.

In this instance, the subjects are Canadian basketball players from the Montreal area. Last year, Syracuse University-bound forward Kris Joseph made the migration, and thrived in the Nation’s Capital. This year, his friend Aleks Mitrovic followed suit, and seems poised for a similar result.

“In America, it’s more of a community thing” said Mitrovic when asked to compare hoops in the two countries. “In Canada, you could say the national sport is hockey; everybody comes to the hockey games. The basketball community is small, so you could say everybody knows everybody.

“Here, we might go to the mall or something, and somebody asks us where we play, and they know (us), and might have friends who play or people who work at the school or something. So it’s a bigger community, it’s more popular”.

Mitrovic (21) and Joseph (22), battling here against DeMatha. Carroll won the game, 70-61.

Greatly aiding his transition has been Joseph, who Mitrovic revealed “Yes I have, because he was here last year, and went through this experience all last year”, when asked if he has used Kris as a resource. “Plus we were good friends before we came down here. We played together for four years…We stayed tight. If I have a problem, I come to him, and he helps me. I can help him maybe too”.

“He knew he wanted to come here since last year” said Joseph, of helping guide his friend’s transition to Carroll. “So he knew it is in one of the best leagues in the east of America…It wasn’t too hard to mentor him about the WCAC because he’s a pretty smart player himself. It wasn’t too hard for him to adjust”.

Away from the hardwood, Joseph has assisted as well, revealing “Off the court, we pretty much do the same thing; we go to practice, we hang out on the weekends. I try and make it easier for him when we go to the boulevard or something like that”.

One thing Aleks hasn’t readily accepted is D.C.’s indigenous musical art form, go-go music. His fellow Montreal native Joseph, of the same mind, laughingly revealed the duo “doesn’t like that go-go stuff”, but overall are happy with the D.C. experience.

Mitrovic, a 6’6” inch, 210 pound senior forward who was born in Serbia before moving to Montreal at the age of four, is starting to become popular with recruiters. According to Carroll’s coach, Clinton Perrow, “NC State has shown some interest. Hampton has shown some interest” as well as a Jesuit school in West Virginia and Longwood College. To date, a firm scholarship offer has not been tendered, though that could change shortly.

Given his ability to hit the open jumper, bang for rebounds, defend, and display a high hoops I.Q., along with a 3.9 GPA and approximately 1900 SAT score, there is little wonder Aleks is receiving recruiting experience. “I’m excited. It’s my first recruiting process” shared Mitrovic of being evaluated by colleges. “Right now it’s an exciting process, but I’m sure I’m going to get sick of it soon. I just want to make the right decision for me, come next year”.

Though open to all options, Mitrovic is partial to schools that employ “the run and gun style”, as he likes to get up and down the floort. He also, if it presents itself, would prefer to stay in the Northeast for college, or at least on the East Coast.

Perrow, for one, is happy for the one year he has with Aleks. “He’s a tough guy. He does all the dirty work” said Carroll’s coach. “When we first set eyes on him, we knew he would do the stuff most players didn’t really want to do. He’s just one of those hard nosed guys”.

Mitrovic File:

Favorite Food: “My mom’s home cooking”
Favorite Movies: “How to be a Player, Love & Basketball, Super Bad”
Favorite Rappers: “Lil’ Wayne and Kanye West”
Favorite R&B Singers: “Keyshia Cole and Alicia Keys”