Boston College Athletics
New Freshmen Looking To Turn Up Summer Heat
June 28, 2017 | Men's Basketball, #ForBoston Files
The youth movement is helping to lay the groundwork for the basketball program's rise
Each season, it always seems like a freshman jumps to the front of the Boston College basketball line. Two seasons ago, Jerome Robinson played over 33 minutes per game and averaged 11 points and four rebounds as a shooting guard. Last season, Ky Bowman stepped up, earning a starting point guard position by averaging 14 points and five rebounds.
That youth movement is helping to lay the groundwork for the program's rise back to prominence, and this season, four new youngsters will also look to build on the team's needs and desires. So while their peers are at the beach or at the pool enjoying summer vacation, Vin Baker Jr., Luka Kraljevic, Steffon Mitchell and Avery Wilson are in the gym, burning up Conte Forum's court in hopes of giving the Eagles an immediate impact.
"We're all really excited," Baker said. "This is something I know I've dreamed of since I was a little kid. To be on this stage and this huge platform, readying to play in the ACC - it's a big deal for me."
"It's exciting," Wilson echoed. "This is an opportunity that we've all dreamed of for a long time. Now that we're here, it's finally starting to come true."
The four Eagle freshmen come to the program from very different backgrounds and pedigrees. Wilson is a 6-foot-4-inch guard from Georgia, while Mitchell is a 6-foot-8 -inch forward from Minnesota.
Kraljevic is a tall and long center who played at Don Bosco Prep in Indiana. Originally from Slovenia, his 6-foot-10-inch frame builds on the Eagles' recruiting success with fellow European import Nik Popovic.
And then there's Baker. At 6-feet-9 inches, he'll project to the forward position, the same position his father played for 13 seasons in the NBA. The son of the four-time NBA All-Star with the same name, he might already be the most well-known since there's a maturity that comes with the pedigree of having grown up in the game.
"Our class has great energy," Kraljevic said. "We do everything together. We live together, we break together, we work out together -- really just do everything together. It's a thing that the coaching staff emphasized for us to do. We really have to stick together and we have to have each other's backs at all times. It's still early and we're still getting adjusted to each other. But I love playing with these guys already, and we have a long, fun summer ahead of us still."
It's an attitude on which the Eagles are buoying continued rebuilding efforts. Over the past two seasons, Boston College has quietly built a foundation for competing in a stacked ACC. Using development and multiyear players, it's a switch from the more common discussion piece across college basketball's "one-and-done" players.
"The coaches are showing us where we fit in," Mitchell said. "They used last year's film to show us what we could do and how we would be able to succeed. They've been putting us in those situations so we are in the best position to achieve that success."
"Right off the jump, the coaching staff put its trust in me as a player," Baker agreed. "They told me how they want me to fit into the system. As a shooter, having guards like Avery, Ky Bowman and Jerome Robinson open up a way for me to get shots. That's going to allow me to have an impact on the floor. I feel like I can fit into this system well and our coaches make a statement by putting that trust in us."
But as freshmen, the group knows it's not built overnight. The regular season is still months away and the road to get there is long. Even if they're expected to make an immediate impact, young players have to earn minutes by competing, learning the system and turning opportunities into elevated expectations.
"We're all very good competitors but we all know there's a process," Mitchell said. "We all have to do certain things to help us and our team reach our end goal. At the end of the day, our goal is to win more games as a team."
"We do everything together, but it's been a quick adjustment," Baker said. "We're still all getting to know each other, so we all compete with each other - both on and off the court. We like to push each other and that's going to help us transition onto the court when we get our opportunities."
All of this, of course, will occur, in real time, against the best conference in college basketball. Nine ACC teams made the NCAA Tournament in March, two more than the next highest (the Big East and Big Ten each had seven). Only two teams entered the first round as the lower seed.
It's also the home of North Carolina, who advanced to the national championship game for the second-straight season last year. In 2016, the Heels lost on a last second shot. In 2017, they won their sixth title and third under head coach Roy Williams.
"It's a huge stage for us," Kraljevic said. "This is the first time I'll play on a stage like this against crowds like this. But it's a positive pressure. I'm really excited to get into it. Hopefully we can pull off some wins and have better seasons every year. We're still a young team, but I think we have a good team and some good potential."
"I want to compete with every team," Mitchell said. "I hope that we can be just as big, just as good as everyone else. We're going to put in the work and the time to be at that next stage. Every team wants to be at that point. Our goal is to move up that ladder in the ACC.
"These games are huge no matter what's going on, from the crowd to the team to everything else," Baker said. "I hope that the work that we put in, from the court to the lifting, can translate into results on this huge stage. I hope that we can earn the coaches' trust to play our game and make our mistakes but bounce back from anything. We want to win games, and we want to compete with every team along the way."
"Our goal is to compete for that winning season that every team is looking for," Wilson said. "We want to get better each and every game, and we want to get better together each and every day. We want to improve on every game and learn from our mistakes. I'm hoping that we can rise up as a program.
"Everybody does something different, so it's not just a class full of guards or a class full of posts," he continued. "One guy might be better on the ball, and one guy might be better on the post. So we have to learn how to feed off each other, so when we're playing together, we're playing with people who mesh better that way."
That youth movement is helping to lay the groundwork for the program's rise back to prominence, and this season, four new youngsters will also look to build on the team's needs and desires. So while their peers are at the beach or at the pool enjoying summer vacation, Vin Baker Jr., Luka Kraljevic, Steffon Mitchell and Avery Wilson are in the gym, burning up Conte Forum's court in hopes of giving the Eagles an immediate impact.
"We're all really excited," Baker said. "This is something I know I've dreamed of since I was a little kid. To be on this stage and this huge platform, readying to play in the ACC - it's a big deal for me."
"It's exciting," Wilson echoed. "This is an opportunity that we've all dreamed of for a long time. Now that we're here, it's finally starting to come true."
The four Eagle freshmen come to the program from very different backgrounds and pedigrees. Wilson is a 6-foot-4-inch guard from Georgia, while Mitchell is a 6-foot-8 -inch forward from Minnesota.
Kraljevic is a tall and long center who played at Don Bosco Prep in Indiana. Originally from Slovenia, his 6-foot-10-inch frame builds on the Eagles' recruiting success with fellow European import Nik Popovic.
And then there's Baker. At 6-feet-9 inches, he'll project to the forward position, the same position his father played for 13 seasons in the NBA. The son of the four-time NBA All-Star with the same name, he might already be the most well-known since there's a maturity that comes with the pedigree of having grown up in the game.
"Our class has great energy," Kraljevic said. "We do everything together. We live together, we break together, we work out together -- really just do everything together. It's a thing that the coaching staff emphasized for us to do. We really have to stick together and we have to have each other's backs at all times. It's still early and we're still getting adjusted to each other. But I love playing with these guys already, and we have a long, fun summer ahead of us still."
It's an attitude on which the Eagles are buoying continued rebuilding efforts. Over the past two seasons, Boston College has quietly built a foundation for competing in a stacked ACC. Using development and multiyear players, it's a switch from the more common discussion piece across college basketball's "one-and-done" players.
"The coaches are showing us where we fit in," Mitchell said. "They used last year's film to show us what we could do and how we would be able to succeed. They've been putting us in those situations so we are in the best position to achieve that success."
"Right off the jump, the coaching staff put its trust in me as a player," Baker agreed. "They told me how they want me to fit into the system. As a shooter, having guards like Avery, Ky Bowman and Jerome Robinson open up a way for me to get shots. That's going to allow me to have an impact on the floor. I feel like I can fit into this system well and our coaches make a statement by putting that trust in us."
But as freshmen, the group knows it's not built overnight. The regular season is still months away and the road to get there is long. Even if they're expected to make an immediate impact, young players have to earn minutes by competing, learning the system and turning opportunities into elevated expectations.
"We're all very good competitors but we all know there's a process," Mitchell said. "We all have to do certain things to help us and our team reach our end goal. At the end of the day, our goal is to win more games as a team."
"We do everything together, but it's been a quick adjustment," Baker said. "We're still all getting to know each other, so we all compete with each other - both on and off the court. We like to push each other and that's going to help us transition onto the court when we get our opportunities."
All of this, of course, will occur, in real time, against the best conference in college basketball. Nine ACC teams made the NCAA Tournament in March, two more than the next highest (the Big East and Big Ten each had seven). Only two teams entered the first round as the lower seed.
It's also the home of North Carolina, who advanced to the national championship game for the second-straight season last year. In 2016, the Heels lost on a last second shot. In 2017, they won their sixth title and third under head coach Roy Williams.
"It's a huge stage for us," Kraljevic said. "This is the first time I'll play on a stage like this against crowds like this. But it's a positive pressure. I'm really excited to get into it. Hopefully we can pull off some wins and have better seasons every year. We're still a young team, but I think we have a good team and some good potential."
"I want to compete with every team," Mitchell said. "I hope that we can be just as big, just as good as everyone else. We're going to put in the work and the time to be at that next stage. Every team wants to be at that point. Our goal is to move up that ladder in the ACC.
"These games are huge no matter what's going on, from the crowd to the team to everything else," Baker said. "I hope that the work that we put in, from the court to the lifting, can translate into results on this huge stage. I hope that we can earn the coaches' trust to play our game and make our mistakes but bounce back from anything. We want to win games, and we want to compete with every team along the way."
"Our goal is to compete for that winning season that every team is looking for," Wilson said. "We want to get better each and every game, and we want to get better together each and every day. We want to improve on every game and learn from our mistakes. I'm hoping that we can rise up as a program.
"Everybody does something different, so it's not just a class full of guards or a class full of posts," he continued. "One guy might be better on the ball, and one guy might be better on the post. So we have to learn how to feed off each other, so when we're playing together, we're playing with people who mesh better that way."
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballWomen's Basketball: Coach Pop Joins ACC Network Basketball Podcast
Tuesday, May 05
#20 Baseball Defeats Clemson (May 1, 2026)
Saturday, May 02
No. 20 Baseball defeats UMass Lowell (April 28, 2026)
Wednesday, April 29
From the Desk of Blake James | Episode 8
Friday, April 24
