Stefan Milivojevic & Victor Ruiz de Carranza

Men's Basketball

Professional Careers Continue For Men's Basketball Alumni

SERBIA/SPAIN – A former dynamic duo with their names imprinted throughout the Academy of Art men's basketball record books and who pioneered the first two ART U squads to make the Pacific West Conference Championship Tournament has continued to excel on the basketball court, as the pair of Victor Ruiz de Carranza (2020) and Stefan Milivojevic (2021) have found success as they live out their dreams of playing basketball at the highest levels. 

Victor Ruiz de Carranza & Stefan MilivojevicOne of the best rebounders in school history, Ruiz de Carranza recently finished his second year with Albacete Basket where it was an absolute banner season. Albacete won the East Division of LEB-Silver, capturing the No. 1 seed as they entered the league's postseason before ultimately earning promotion. Meanwhile for the best shooter in ART U program history, Milivojevic finished his debut professional campaign with MBK Baník Handlová and is now currently playing for Sokobanja x Troy 3x3 as part of the MTS Streetball 3x3 Elite league. 

"We are extremely proud of Vic and Stef for their successes playing professionally overseas and look forward to following the next steps of their career," said ART U Head Coach Scott Waterman. "Both of them played a major role in building the current foundation of our program and I cannot thank them enough for their loyalty and support during my tenure."

For Ruiz de Carranza, he started his second season with Albacete Basket after a debut campaign where the team finished at 15-10 in fourth place of the East Division, but what a difference a year made as Albacete rose all the way into first after a 19-7 record. It was tied for the best record in all of LEB-Silver along with Cantabria, and would help them enter as one fo the top seeds for the playoffs. With the postseason tournament played across two games, Albacete rolled past Melilla in the quarterfinals thanks to a large win in game one before tying game two to advance on aggregate. 

Befitting a season in which numerous games were of a seesaw nature or came down to the closing moments, the semifinal battle against Valencia Basket would be no different. Ruiz de Carranza recounted the games, how the first was a tight affair that would go the way of Valencia by just one point, meaning that for Albacete to advance, they would have to win game two by at least two points. Though Albacete was doing its best to maintain the lead it had built, both teams would string together an impressive run, one after the other, keeping the contest close in the closing moments. Toward the end of the game the tide was turning, as the Albacete lead had turned into a seven-point deficit. 

Victor Ruiz de CarranzaDuring the timeout, Ruiz de Carranza recalled the looks in his teammates' eyes, and knew in that moment that Albacete would come back to win. Out of the timeout Albacete went to work, pairing their buckets with defensive stops at the other end until they trailed by just one point with 10 seconds left. In front of a packed house, the most full it has ever been according to Ruiz de Carranza, point guard Gerald Blat hit a crossover into a bucket to push Albacete ahead by one, forcing overtime for the right to move on. 

From there Albacete couldn't miss, as they would stormed through the extra period to claim victory and head into the final. Except in Spain, much like they do in soccer, that meant Albacete was one of two teams to be promoted from the LEB-Silver Division. Next year, they will compete with the top teams in all of Spain in the LEB-Gold. Amidst the chaos of the instant party that was taking place on the court, Ruiz de Carranza instantly understood the magnitude and meaning of the moment.

"It's one of those things you will always feel proud of," Ruiz de Carranza said. "I will be able to look back in time and remember the moment when all the work done paid off. Also, the fact that I got to share the same feeling with 12 amazing individuals is the best. I think coach [David] Varela did an incredible job recruiting the right players. We were three returners and seven recruits. The one thing that we all had in common is that we are all good human beings. That was crucial for us. We had the best chemistry on and off the court, and that really showed in the results. That's the beautiful side of [basketball]. Your teammates become your good friends, then your brothers, and now you have a strong bond of brothers fighting for the same goal."

All of that came on the heels of what was perhaps the best year of his career, both as an Urban Knight and as a professional, as the Spaniard turned in his best scoring and rebounding averages ever with 7.6 points and 7.9 boards per game. Showing off that famous versatility that he utilized throughout his career at ART U, he also chipped in 2.3 assists per game (best number as a pro) and 1.2 steals per game. But the full scope of why this was perhaps a career year to Ruiz de Carranza goes beyond just the numbers.

Victor Ruiz de Carranza"This year was my second season in Albacete, so I was already comfortable with our coaching staff, the league, the city and everything else," he said. "I told myself from the jump that we had to make this one count. We had the right pieces to promote so it was a matter of finding ourselves having the same mentality and pursuing the same objective. My job this year was pretty much that; to have everyone being on the same page on and off the court, to be an extension of coach Varela, to lead from defense, [and] to be aggressive in offense when the team needed me to be. Once I understood what I had to do, it was a matter of manifesting what I previously told myself I needed to do before every game."

The feeling of being a professional basketball player has still not worn off for Ruiz de Carranza, as he just recently signed yet another one-year contract with Albacete, with hopes of competing at the top of LEB-Gold, which was a goal for himself within three years of returning to Spain. While Ruiz de Carranza acknowledges that there can be tough days as there is in any profession, he still cherishes the fact that he gets to wake up every morning with the ability to do the job that he loves. At the heart of being a professional, according to Ruiz de Carranza, is the fact that you always have to be willing to put in the work, something he harkens back to his time at Academy of Art. 

"The first thing that comes to mind is putting the work and giving your 100% at all times," Ruiz de Carranza said. "From waking up at 5:30 a.m. to hit the weight room, to finishing and perfecting your projects at school, I feel like back in ART U every day was a challenge. There were many moments when I felt like I didn't have time for everything, moments when I would find myself at 3 a.m., exhausted after a long day of school and practicing, finishing my homework. Even though it was tough, I would always find the way to get it done. The fact that I know I can go through that helps me every time when I feel physically or mentally tired — and I'm not talking just in basketball, but in real life as well - it's like my deeper voice telling me: 'Come on man. Wake up! You went through way worse than this!'"

Not only did he recall his time off the court, but he recalled back to his last season with the Urban Knights in 2019-20 where he, along with Milivojevic, would advance to the PacWest Championship Tournament for the second consecutive season and second time in program history. 

"Another thing that was really helpful for me was the experience that I got as a captain during my senior year," Ruiz de Carranza said. "There were many moments this season that brought some memories back from my last ride in ART U. Like I said before, one of the things that coach Varela wanted me to do is to have everyone engaged and giving their 100 percent - same as Coach Waterman did - sometimes the coach needs a hand in that aspect so I really took pride from being able to help him and my teammates when they needed me."

Stefan Milivojevic - Sokobanja x Troy 3x3Turning to Milivojevic, he embarked on his professional career as a member of MBK Baník Handlová in the Slovakian Nike-SBL league for the 2020-21 season, with Handlová posting an 11-25 record to finish the year in seventh place. The shooter continued to do what he does best, dropping 8.0 points per game on the strength of 49.5 percent shooting from the floor and a 36.0 percent clip from downtown, pairing those numbers with an average of 3.4 boards per contest. He had a fantastic five-game stretch he averaged 15.2 points after hitting double-digits on all five occasions, and ultimately ended the year scoring in double figures 12 times. 

While the scoring numbers weren't quite as high as many ART U fans remember, as the Serbian native averaged 17.2 points per game in his junior year before ending his Academy of Art career with an average of 16.4 in his senior campaign, Milivojevic believed there was still a lesson to learn from the season, including the differences in basketball between America and abroad.

"My first pro year was very valuable experience to me," he said. "I learned that there are a lot of different coaching systems in which you need to be ready to adapt and play. Instead of making excuses you need to be coachable and be prepared to step out of your comfort zone in order to earn minutes on the court. European basketball is more team-oriented compared to American which is more one-on-one. Once you learn to play within the team, is it is easier to manage transition from one type of basketball to another."

After the conclusion of the season, Milivojevic turned his attention to three-on-three basketball where he became a member of the Sokobanja x Troy 3x3, batting in various three-on-three tournaments as part of the  MTS Streetball 3x3 Elite league. Different from normal five-on-five basketball, the three-on-three game is played only in the half court and goes to a score of 21. For Milivojevic, it's been a great way to work on aspects of his game. 

"[The] 3x3 experience has been great so far," Milivojevic said. "I am trying to elevate my game even more during the summer by constantly practicing and competing in 3x3. Previous summers I would have usually practiced less compared to this summer because 3x3 is difficult to play, [as] you need to be physically ready to play it."

Stefan Milivojevic dunkIn his very first appearance with Troy 3x3, Milivojevic and his squad took first place in tournament field of 24, as they were the only team to win all six games they played in after they closed out the tournament with a thrilling 21-19 win in the final. Milivojevic has now competed in a total of 13 tournaments, and he has walked away victorious in four, two each coming under the teams of Troy 3x3 and Sokobanja x Troy 3x3. While he is finding success, Milivojevic says the three-on-three game is different than what he's used to. 

"[It's a] completely different sport compared to 5v5," he said. "The rules are different, it is far more physical and refs are allowing more contact. I like 3x3 because it drives me to win and compete, and gets me ready and prepared for my upcoming basketball season."

The season continues for Milivojevic, as he prepares for his next tournament to begin on Aug. 10. In all of FIBA Basketball, Milivojevic is ranked as the No. 55 player from Serbia. He knows that his time at ART U was extremely crucial for not just his basketball career, but his life off the court as well. 

"Playing at ART U helped me be ready to play pro ball because throughout the years it shaped my mentality, my work ethic and my skills," Milivojevic said. "I gained a lot of necessary experience playing games and I learned a lot of details that can be applied in Europe."