Perhaps 17-year old UCLA Bruin freshman Nikola Kusturica didn’t catch every game of the program’s Final Four run in 2021 while growing up in Serbia. 

Kusturica was just 12-years old the last time UCLA made the Final Four and while clearly Kusturica learned the sport of basketball just fine, maybe he didn’t follow along for the Bruins’ epic journey in March of 2021. 

Following Wednesday’s win, Kusturica spoke at the postgame press conference and it became clear that he had no idea who Tyger Campbell was. Teammate Trent Perry was asked about a comparison to Tyger Campbell and Kusturica intervened seeking some clarity on who Tyger Cambell is.

“That’s crazy,” Perry reacted. “I’ll get to talk to him after, we got a long way to go.”

UCLA is eyeing a deep run this season, which will give Perry and the rest of the team time to go over the program’s rich history with Kusturica. Campbell was a leader for UCLA’s last Final Four team, scoring 11.9 points and 4.3 assists for the Bruins in the 2020-2021 season.

Campbell spent all four seasons with UCLA, playing 133 games as a Bruin with career averages of 11.1 points, 4.9 assists and 1.1 steals. Perry’s number could wind up looking similarly. Perry is in his third season with UCLA and has averaged 8.6 points per game over his 70 games with the Bruins. Perry’s points-per-game are on the rise though, averaging 14.3 per game this season in a more prominent role for the UCLA offense.

Kusturica’s UCLA career is only just beginning but he’s been fantastic too, scoring 18.3 points with 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.7 steals per game through his first three games.