ORONO, Maine – The Maine Black Bears men's basketball team added two incoming transfers to the 2018 recruiting class, with Sergio El Darwich and Nedeljko Prijovic signing National Letters of Intent to attend UMaine, head coach Richard Barron announced on Tuesday.
 
"We are thrilled to announce the signings of Sergio El Darwich and Nedeljko Prijovic," said Barron. "Both were on official visits this past weekend."
 
El Darwich, a 6-4 guard from Dekweneh, Lebanon, comes to UMaine after spending last season at Western Texas College and 2016-17 at South Dakota State.
 
"Sergio is a big, strong combo guard with a complete tool set," continued Barron. "He sets up his teammates well, shoots with great range, can finish in a variety of ways at the rim and has the ability to post smaller guards. He will make an immediate impact on our team."
 
In 17 games last season at Western Texas (NJCAA), El Darwich averaged 7.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, while shooting 51 percent from the floor and 42 percent from 3-point range.
 
Prijovic, a 6-7 forward from Belgrade, Serbia, spent the last two seasons at Texas State.
 
"Ned has great versatility with his size and length," Barron noted. "He has excellent footwork and a crafty scoring ability. Ned is an excellent rebounder and a willing passer. He has great basketball IQ and will be a tremendous weapon in America East play."  
 
Both El Darwich and Prijovic are familiar with each other and the Pine Tree State; they were teammates at Lee Academy under current UMaine assistant coach Igor Vrzina.

Prijovic made six starts and appeared in 29 games in 2017-18 for the Bobcats. He averaged 4.2 points and brought down 3.4 boards per contest. Under Vrzina at Lee Academy, Prijovic averaged 15.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists during his senior season in 2015-16.
 
El Darwich is immediately eligible to play in 2018-19, classifying as a junior. Priovic will sit out the 2018-19 season due to NCAA transfer rules. He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
 
In 2016, ESPN ranked El Darwich as the second-best recruit in the state of Maine, with Prijovic coming directly behind him in third. Andrew Fleming ranked as the fourth-best recruit in the state that season.
 
The two signees join Miks Antoms, Dusan Majstorovic, Ilija Stojiljkovic and Lewis Wang, who all attended Lee Academy on the 2018-19 roster.

El Darwich and Prijovic become the second the third recruits to sign NLI's with UMaine this offseason. 2018 Mr. Maine Basketball and two-time Maine Gatorade Player of the Year Terion Moss signed his NLI last week to join Maine next season.
 
The eligibility of all student-athletes is contingent upon admission to the University of Maine and compliance with all NCAA rules, including registration with the NCAA Eligibility Center.
 
-UMaine-