| Sasa Borovnjak |
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After missing the previous campaign with an ACL injury, Borovnjak changed his body prior to the 2011-12 season and earned the most playing time of his career as he continued to develop into a reliable low-post scoring threat and defender. At 6-9, 240 pounds, he is one of the Lions' biggest and most physical players on the block and proved to be an efficient shooter from close range as he led Penn State shooting 56.5 percent from the floor in 32 games last year. Blessed with excellent passing skills, a strong face-up game and basketball IQ, the Academic All-Big Ten honoree, with better than a 3.2 grade-point average in marketing, will continue to develop his role in his fourth season in the program.
"He is doing great. He is back to full contact and Saz, our trainer, is doing a great job with him. He is very skilled. He can shoot it, he can pass, and he has a very good basketball IQ."
- Patrick Chambers
2011-12 • SOPHOMORE
Borovnjak returned from an ACL injury to see the most action of his career in his sophomore campaign...Played in all 32 games and made seven starts...Averaged 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game while shooting a team-best 56.6 percent from the floor in an average of 17.5 minutes per game...Scored in 27 games, twice reaching double-figures...Showed flashes of an effective low-post scoring game posting a career-high 15 points on 7-of-7 shooting against a big Mississippi team (12/4) and logging 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting vs. Mount St. Mary's (12/18)...Pulled down six rebounds vs. No. 2 Kentucky (11/19) and tallied a career-high seven boards at Duquesne (12/10)....Went 4-of-4 for eight points in a 65-45 home victory over Purdue (1/5) and went 4-of-5 for eight points at Purdue (2/29)...Logged eight points and six rebounds at Nebraska (1/11)...Made his first career start in the season-opener vs. Hartford (11/12).
2010-11 • REDSHIRT
After a strong summer in which he looked like he would compete for time on the Nittany Lions' frontline, Borovnjak tore the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in his right knee during the Lions' first full-team practice on Oct. 7 and missed the 2010-11 season as he rehabilitated the injury.
2009-10 • FRESHMAN
Borovnjak saw action in 18 games as a true-freshman, including seven Big Ten games...Averaged 1.8 ppg and 1.1 rpg...Scored in eight games...Made his collegiate debut with two points in the season-opening victory over Penn (11/13)...Had a season-high six points in a victory over Robert Morris (11/16)...Had five points in a 79-60 victory over Northwestern (2/28)...Pulled down season-highs of three rebounds in wins over Robert Morris and Gardner-Webb (12/19).
HIGH SCHOOL
Borovnjak earned first-team All-Western North Carolina honors in his senior season at Veritas Christian Academy...Led western North Carolina in scoring and was fourth among all public and private school players in the state posting 26.1 ppg...Added 12.0 rebounds per game for a Veritas team that went 20-18 and finished sixth in the National Association of Christian Athlete's Division I National Championship....Veritas spent four weeks in ESPN's Top 50 prep program rankings during the year and played a national schedule that took them as far as the Bahamas and to 16 states...Borovnjak played two seasons at Veritas where he played with current Memphis guard Doneal Mack and Clemson center Catalin Baciu...Posted 33 points and 14 rebounds against perennial national power Oak Hill Academy, a 41-point outing vs. Queens Grant and 27 points vs. Mt. Zion as a senior....Averaged 18 ppg and 12 rpg as a junior and was named the Offensive MVP of the NACA Division I National Championship....Listed as a three star recruit by Scout.com.
PERSONAL
Born on July 30, 1989 in Knin, Croatia...The son of Zoran and Jasmenka Borovnjak, both of whom are economists...His older brother, Dejan, is a 6-10 forward who has played professional basketball in Europe since 2004-05 and currently is a member of the italian club, New Basket Brindisi, playing in Legadue...Raised in Belgrade, Serbia until moving to U.S. for two seasons of prep basketball before coming to Penn State.
