Uros Plavsic says goodbye to Tennessee

Tennessee’s seven-foot enforcer will not return to Knoxville next season, as expected. Rick Barnes and his staff have already rounded out the roster for next season, meaning Olivier Nkamhoua, Josiah-Jordan James, Uros Plavsic and Julian Phillips won’t be back.

Plavsic made things official this afternoon.

“As this chapter of my life closes, I am ready to begin the next,” Plavsic said in the note. “Playing professional basketball has always been one of the biggest dreams to me. I have decided to go after that goal and follow my dreams.”

Plavsic now opts to start his professional playing career, which will likely take him overseas. Uros is originally from Serbia, but moved to the states to pursue basketball. That journey eventually led him to Arizona State for one season, then he transferred to Tennessee where he would stay for the next four seasons.

He averaged 14 and 13 minutes per game over the last two seasons for the Volunteers, starting over 40 games. As a senior, Plavsic averaged 4.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. His best outing came against Kentucky, scoring 19 points on 9-11 shooting.

Plavsic’s toughness made headlines in the NCAA Tournament, as Tennessee bullied their way past Duke to move to the Sweet 16. Overall, Plavsic likely won’t be remembered for too much on the court, but rather his passion for his team both on the floor and on the bench. Nobody cared more than Uros did, and that could be seen night in and night out on the sidelines.

Tennessee will now turn to Jonas Aidoo, Tobe Awaka, Chris Ledlum, JP Estrella and Cade Phillips in the frontcourt.