MOREHEAD, Ky. - At age 26,
Lazar Milinkovic says he has grown into a more mature basketball coach.
Milinkovic, who just completed his second season as an assistant coach with the Morehead State women's team, broke into the business at the unheard of age of 19.
A native of Belgrade, Serbia, Milinkovic came to the U.S. to play his senior year of high school ball for Mountain State (W.Va.) Academy. Upon graduation, he had some opportunities to play at the NCAA II and NAIA level. Instead, he accepted an offer to become an assistant coach at his alma mater while continuing his education at Mountain State University.
He spent two years as an assistant at the academy. There, he coached Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NBA draft.
Then came two years as an assistant at Huntington (W.Va.) Prep, whose roster included current Minnesota Timberwolves standout Andrew Wiggins.
All the while, Milinkovic kept going to school himself, earning a bachelor's degree in applied management from Ohio University in 2012.
That was the year he moved into women's basketball, landing a graduate assistant role at Marshall University. He spent two seasons with the Thundering Herd, also earning a master's degree there in adult education.
When MSU Coach
Greg Todd had an opening on his staff for the 2014-15 season, Milinkovic jumped at the chance.
Milinkovic, who is single, has a variety of roles with the Eagles. In addition to working with post players, he organizes travel and equipment, helps with summer camp and scheduling, and acts as a liaison with the training, strength and compliance staffs. And, of course, he recruits.
How has he improved as a coach over the years?
"I think maturing and kind of learning 'well, next time I need to address this differently,'," Milinkovic said. "Or patience. … This is kind of my nature. I'm always fired up. So learning to be patient. But, again, I will tie that in with maturity."
He says there is a difference in coaching each of the sexes.
"With men, you're coaching more egos than with women," Milinkovic said. "Men, they want to know 'why' more so than girls do. Women will do it and ask questions later."
This time of year, he says, the MSU staff is focused on individual workouts and player development. Fundamentals come first.
"Not overly complicated," Milinkovic said. "We just want to be able to get up and down the floor. Being able to beat our defenders one-on-one and being able to push the ball."
The Eagles finished 10-20 last season, 4-12 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
With only one player lost to graduation, next season's team will be more experienced. Also, Milinkovic says, depth is going to be a plus.
Away from the court, Milinkovic likes to read, work out and watch movies. He also likes to travel, which comes in handy on the recruiting trail.
He recently returned from a week with his family in Belgrade. From Morehead, he stays in contact with father Ljubomir, mother Zorica and older sister Milica via Skype on a daily basis.
As for career goals, Milinkovic says "as long as I coach, I'll be learning new things."
Eventually, he wants to be a head coach in the women's game.
"I don't want to take credit for it, but I've read when you're a head coach of a college team, you're like a CEO of a small business," Milinkovic said. "And it really is that way because you're managing a budget, you're managing personnel, you're managing so many different things. But that's ultimately what I want to do. I don't know how long it will take me. And sometimes in this business, they're different factors that impact that. But that's what I want to work towards and see if I can get there."
