Ognacevic rounds out season with two tournaments, one ring and one Big Ten opportunity

Before the 2024-25 men’s basketball season started, if you’d asked senior forward Jacob Ognacevic what his goals were, he’d tell you three things: win the ASUN, make it to the NCAA Tournament and pursue undeniability. Now, at the end of the season, Ognacevic has done all three and then some. 

An ASUN Championship victory has been something the Wisconsin native has been aiming for throughout his four year tenure at Lipscomb. With the close of the 2024-25 basketball season, he was finally able to secure that ring. Not only that, but the Bisons made their way to the NCAA Tournament, playing against the Iowa State Cyclones in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Ognacevic continued to remain dedicated to raising his skillset further in his pursuit of undeniability. 

Midseason, the 6’8” forward was averaging 18.9 points a game — already a college high for him. Ognacevic closed out the season with an average of 20 points a game, continually pushing higher. Ognacevic said he’s never stopped learning, and doesn’t plan to now, even as he steps into a new chapter of his basketball career.

“There were a lot of tough times [in my career], but I just bounced back and kept on going,” said Ognacevic. “That’s the key. One thing that I’ve learned in my basketball career is that you have to keep going, no matter what. I’ve had struggles in [high school and in] college too. And you just can’t stop. Whatever it is, good or bad, or in between. Just keep going.”

Alongside the ASUN ring and NCAA appearance, Ognacevic picked up a good bit of other things this season. He said one of the key skills he learned was how to “deal with double teams.”

“I haven’t been double teamed as much in college as I was before,” Ognacevic said. “I mean, if you watch my games two years ago, a lot of my buckets were because Ahsan was just throwing it over the top and I, you know, I got good steals,” he said, with reference to former Lipscomb graduate center Ahsan Asadullah. “Ahsan was such a good passer, he could dump it off to me and I wasn’t really getting a lot of post moves, but now this year I was a lot more of a bigger threat in the post. So a lot of guys were doubling me.”

Ognacevic remarked that he had to learn how to navigate being double teamed because it was something that hadn’t happened much to him in the past. “In high school, guys would double, but I was a foot taller than everyone,” he said with a laugh. “But in college you know, they’re a little bit bigger. So just kind of having to navigate the double team, making the right passes and making the right reads — I feel like I got a lot better with that as the season went on.”

To come back to playing after a whole season off due to his injury was something Ognacevic was ready for, but he remarked that he was also a little uncertain about it at the start of the season. 

“I think there was a big question mark on me this year just because I didn’t play last year,” he said. “So it was kind of like, what is it going to look like when he comes back? … I think right away I had a really good game at Duquesne and just kind of went from there… but that first game I was really nervous. I couldn’t feel my legs at all at the start because I hadn’t played in forever. So that was kind of a weird thing to see my name announced again, but once we got the first game under my belt, I was kind of like, okay, now we’re rolling. I’ve still got it. I mean, when you come back from not playing at all, you kind of question yourself a little bit. Not that I didn’t think I could play, but I was [thinking], I haven’t done this in over a year and, you know, do I have it anymore? How am I going to feel? What’s it going to look like? But thank God it came back strong.” 

Despite coming back from such a long injury-induced redshirt period, Ognacevic took to the court with ease. “Jacob’s always been a really, really good player for us,” said Men’s Basketball Assistant Coach Roger Idstrom. “But he’s developed a lot over the years and a lot of that is due to just the amount of work that he’s put in to his game himself. He’s an extremely hard worker. And so he’s continued to get better and better.”

Ask anyone on the team, and they’ll tell you Ognacevic was their leader in a heartbeat. “There’s a vocal leader, and then there’s a leader who leads by example,” said senior guard Joe Anderson. “And J.O. is definitely a guy who leads by example. He’s a quiet guy, but he’s one of the guys where if he comes into the huddle and he says something, everyone’s listening and no one’s talking. I think every team needs that. And, you know, we had a lot of age on the team, but J.O.’s one of those guys that even the older guys were listening to him when he talks and everyone respects him.”

Ognacevic remarked that while he knew he’d definitely grown in his leadership capabilities, there wasn’t as much pressure there as many might think. He said that came down to one main reason: the amount of trust the team placed in each other. “I think there was a little bit of pressure, but like I said, you just got to keep on growing. It doesn’t matter. My coaches trust in me, teammates trust in me. I trusted them too.”

Men’s Basketball Sports Information Director Hannah Jo Riley remarked on the strength of the bonds and camaraderie among the teammates. “This team really loved each other,” said Riley.
I really do think that’s why they had the success that they had. They would run into a fire for each other.”

While it’s undeniable that Ognacevic continues to grow in his on-court skillset, this season saw him grow in other areas as well. He noted that one of the main areas was in his relationships with others. 

“My first year here, I was pretty quiet, didn’t really talk much,” he remarked. “But, you know, now, I would say with those guys I’m a little bit more outgoing and I have good relationships with them.”

Members of the team agreed with him. 

“When he came in here he was shy and he didn’t talk too much,” said junior center Grant Asman. “I mean, he talked to me a little bit because we’re both from Wisconsin, we have similar backgrounds. He went from that to hanging out with everybody and having a relationship with everybody, growing and pushing people to be better. Just inviting people to do things, hanging out at the apartment with everyone. He just was really bought into our team, into the university, into the program, which was just awesome.”

“He is the definition of treating this thing like a family,” Anderson said. “If you’re playing 30 minutes or if you’re just on the bench the whole game… he really does care for everyone.”

While many students on campus may think that Ognacevic is only focused on basketball, with no emotion outside of it, the players were quick to dispute that. “I feel like everyone kind of sees some kind of like he’s only basketball,” said Asman. “He loves basketball… but he loves his family at home, he has great friends back home. He loves where he’s from. He loves Wisconsin. He invests deeply into the people that are around him… he’s well versed… he’s just a great guy to be around.”

“He was a culture guy off the floor this year,” said Riley. “Everybody loved [Jacob]. Like he’s always joking around. And he’s always had that in him. He’s just, you know, a little bit more shy and it takes him a little bit to get to know you. But once you get to know him, he’s funny and has a big personality. So I would say his role this year, was kind of obviously the glue on the court.”

Riley remarked that in many cases, she thought that most people just missed how Ognacevic had married his drive for his sport with his ability to have fun. 

“If you asked me two years ago, I’d be like, oh, he’s all professional. He doesn’t have fun… it’s all or nothing, but that’s not the case,” she said. “I think a lot of people see the transactional part of him, but they don’t see the J.O. as a human, being funny and being a 22 year old boy. Like he is still very much a 22 year old guy. He has fun, he knows how to have fun. He knows how to joke around. And I think that’s the part that people miss a lot, for him. They just see the the quiet exterior and confuse that for not having much of a personality. But he’s got a big personality. You’ve just got to get in there and get to know him.”

“He’s funny,” Anderson said with a smile. “Jacob is a really nice guy… he is a unique guy, but he’s awesome.” 

“He’s very steady,” Riley added. “With like, these hints of just really witty, hilariousness. But he picks and chooses those times.”

“Jacob’s a really unique person,” said Idstrom. “He beats to his own drum for sure.” 

“Just being with Jacob was always fun,” Asman said with a smile. 

Despite the fact that Ognacevic was arguably Lipscomb’s star player this past season, something the other players remarked on, initially D1 basketball was something no one saw for him. 

“I had a good JV year, [freshman year]. It was fun with those guys, but no one ever thought I would even get a Division One scholarship,” Ognacevic said. “Growing up that wasn’t even a thought even for like, you know, people close to me… it was kind of so out there that it wasn’t even a thing. But, you know, I just had that goal in mind, and I don’t know why. It was in my heart, I just wanted to get a D1 scholarship. And I just kept on going and going and going.”

After playing junior varsity his freshman year, Ognacevic transferred to a new, smaller high school. There, the head coach, Nick Verhagen, recognized Ognacevic’s potential. 

“He poured a lot of confidence in me,” Ognacevic said. “He believed in me before I had any offers. I mean, I was a JV player coming from a different school, and he believed in me. He thought I would be really good… and just having a guy like that in your corner, it means a lot. [He’s one of] the people I play for too. When I play, I think of [him] because [he’s] part of the journey. My high school, they’re the reason that I’m here right now.”

With Verhagen and others in his corner, Ognacevic’s skills began to shoot through the roof during his high school career. As he got better, he managed to shatter Sheboygan Lutheran star Sam Dekker’s single season record. 

“I grew up with Sam Dekker, you know, playing in our city and his records at Sheboygan Lutheran were crazy,” Ognacevic shook his head. “He scored I think 924 points in a single season, or something like that. And then I scored a thousand in a season. I never thought I would have been able to do that after my freshman year. And if you’d have told everyone at my old school I would have done that, they would have been like, ‘you’re crazy, you’re lying.’”

His skills have only improved since high school, and while he may not have broken 1,000 points this season, he did make it all the way to the NCAA Tournament. The team competed in Milwaukee, at Fiserv Forum, the home of the NBA team Ognacevic grew up watching — the Milwaukee Bucks. 

“It was kind of surreal,” Ognacevic said with a laugh. “But… that was the goal. That’s the whole reason why I came back this year, was to get to the NCAA tournament, and to actually achieve it meant a lot. And then just playing in Milwaukee too was a bonus. Like I just wanted to make it, but being able to play in Milwaukee was really cool too.”

“I’m really grateful he decided to come back a fifth year,” said Anderson. “You know, it’s really a sacrificial, in a way. He sacrificed probably making money and more glamorous opportunities. But it was really cool to see how selfless he was. And, you know, it was a really good testament of what Lipscomb here is in general and caring for others.”

“Jacob knew what to do. He knew what he wanted to get done,” said Idstrom. “He was really unique in that aspect that he could go in and get a lot accomplished just by himself.” 

With his skillset what it was, Ognacevic likely could have gone anywhere if he’d entered the transfer portal. But instead of leaving, he came back to Lipscomb for one more year. 

“What kept me at Lipscomb was just honestly the people here,” he remarked. “Then the goal of winning the ASUN Championship.” At first, he said, the ASUN banner wasn’t a goal of his. 

“[When] I came in here four years ago now, I didn’t really have any goals or expectations… But as the years went on, the goal of winning the ASUN became very real. And then I wanted to do it last year, but I was unfortunately injured the whole year. So coming back this year, I never even thought of leaving. I know some people were thinking I was going to leave, but I didn’t even think about it. I knew I wanted to stay here and I wanted to win that title. And then also the people here are very special, too. I mean, like, my teammates were great, coaches were great, just the all around community of Lipscomb, it’s a special place, and I just wanted to spend one more year here and get the job done. And that’s exactly what we did, which made it very special.”

With the ASUN championship title and NCAA appearance under his belt, Ognacevic is off to play for the University of Washington  for his last year of eligibility. Excited about the opportunity, he hopes to make it back to the NCAA Tournament one more time. 

“We’ve got to make the tournament,” he said. “I want to make a run in the tournament. And we have the talent to do it… we have a great freshman class, and our portal class, I think we’re ranked fifth in the country. We’re bringing in a lot of talent and just, you know, being able to have success there opens up a ton of doors for all of us too, not just me. I mean, you have success at a Big Ten school and then go to the tournament, make a deep run, that’s a lot of doors being opened and winning for that school would be very cool.”

After his last year playing college ball, his future plans are a little up in the air. But one thing is for sure — the 6’8” forward has no intention to stop playing basketball.  

“If I would have the opportunity to play on an NBA team, I would be on all of them if I could,” he said with a laugh. “I wouldn’t decline any team at all.”

In the meantime, he’ll be working on improving his skillset further — adding a few inches to his vertical jump and some more lateral speed — all while keeping his eye on another NCAA appearance. 

Feature image of Ognacevic receiving his ASUN All Conference Award after winning the ASUN Tournament taken by Micah Barkley.