University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Luca Colceag Transfers to UNC
5/10/2024 2:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
GREELEY, Colo. – Luca Colceag committed to play for Northern Colorado after spending his sophomore season at East Florida State College, head coach Steve Smiley announced Friday.
"As we focused on finishing out the final roster pieces for the upcoming season, one of our final focuses was getting a big wing-forward that can stretch the floor and shoot it, much like former Bears Bodie Hume and Riley Abercrombie," Smiley said. "We believe that we have hit a home run with the signing of Luca."
Colceag, a 6'9" wing-forward originally from Bucharest, Romania joins Northern Colorado, after spending last season at Eastern Florida State College. The Titans began the season ranked No. 1 in the National Junior College Athletic Association national poll and remained in the top ten the entire season.
"Luca proved his ability this year in one of the top junior college leagues in America, and we feel very fortunate that he has chosen our program and university as the next step in his journey," Smiley said. Luca should have a tremendous final two years of college basketball here at UNC. We couldn't be happier!"
During his sophomore campaign, Colceag averaged 10.7 ppg and 6.8 rebounds per game. He knocked down 35% of his attempts behind the 3-point line. Colceag converted 14 of 25 (56%) attempts behind the arc in a four-game stretch during conference play. He represented Romania in the FIBA U20 European Challengers averaging 8.5 ppg and 10.0 rpg during the event.
"Luca fits perfectly into the roster that we already constructed and we believe that he will have a huge impact on our program," Smiley said. "He has great size, the ability to play multiple positions, shoots the ball well, great skills on the defensive end and can attack the rim for himself or to create for others."
Colceag began his collegiate career at Montana State in a reserve role. He appeared in 10 games for the Bobcats during the 2022-23 campaign and tallied a season-high 12 points against Northwest Indian.
Both of Luca's parents are former professional athletes. His father played soccer professionally for two decades. His mother played for the Romanian senior women's national team and helped them qualify for the FIBA Women's EuroBasket in 2001.
What Others say about Luca
"Luca is an exceptional player and a fantastic person! He has great positional size, great length, and an incredibly diverse skill set. Luca is a big-time shooter but can also really create his shot and create for others. Northern Colorado got a steal!" - Jeremy Shulman, Eastern Florida State College
"As we focused on finishing out the final roster pieces for the upcoming season, one of our final focuses was getting a big wing-forward that can stretch the floor and shoot it, much like former Bears Bodie Hume and Riley Abercrombie," Smiley said. "We believe that we have hit a home run with the signing of Luca."
Colceag, a 6'9" wing-forward originally from Bucharest, Romania joins Northern Colorado, after spending last season at Eastern Florida State College. The Titans began the season ranked No. 1 in the National Junior College Athletic Association national poll and remained in the top ten the entire season.
"Luca proved his ability this year in one of the top junior college leagues in America, and we feel very fortunate that he has chosen our program and university as the next step in his journey," Smiley said. Luca should have a tremendous final two years of college basketball here at UNC. We couldn't be happier!"
During his sophomore campaign, Colceag averaged 10.7 ppg and 6.8 rebounds per game. He knocked down 35% of his attempts behind the 3-point line. Colceag converted 14 of 25 (56%) attempts behind the arc in a four-game stretch during conference play. He represented Romania in the FIBA U20 European Challengers averaging 8.5 ppg and 10.0 rpg during the event.
"Luca fits perfectly into the roster that we already constructed and we believe that he will have a huge impact on our program," Smiley said. "He has great size, the ability to play multiple positions, shoots the ball well, great skills on the defensive end and can attack the rim for himself or to create for others."
Colceag began his collegiate career at Montana State in a reserve role. He appeared in 10 games for the Bobcats during the 2022-23 campaign and tallied a season-high 12 points against Northwest Indian.
Both of Luca's parents are former professional athletes. His father played soccer professionally for two decades. His mother played for the Romanian senior women's national team and helped them qualify for the FIBA Women's EuroBasket in 2001.
What Others say about Luca
"Luca is an exceptional player and a fantastic person! He has great positional size, great length, and an incredibly diverse skill set. Luca is a big-time shooter but can also really create his shot and create for others. Northern Colorado got a steal!" - Jeremy Shulman, Eastern Florida State College
Players Mentioned
F
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