Speaking with Mathieu Grujicic, it’s impossible to tell that English is his third language and not his first.
The third of five that he understands, that is, and he knows a piece of the Spanish-adjacent Catalan, too. He speaks four languages fluently.
“If some people that know me hear it, they might argue with me because my Serbian is not too good,” Grujicic said with a laugh at Ohio State’s basketball media day on Oct. 1. “But it's German, French, English, Spanish, a little bit of Catalan, and then, yeah, a little bit of Serbian. But I wouldn't even consider, like, talking (in Serbian), I understand it better than I talk.”
The French-born, German-raised Ohio State freshman who spent this past season playing basketball in Spain brings a versatile offensive skillset to the Buckeyes’ roster, versatility only matched by his personality off the court. He’s acclimated to life in America in near-record time, and he’s rapidly acclimating to the step up in competition he faces in Big Ten basketball.
“I think the game, it’s slowly starting to slow down for him,” Jake Diebler said on Oct. 1. “The pace that we’re playing at is different. It’s not what he’s used to. I think it’s certainly a different game than (what) he’s used to playing overseas. Which, he played really well at the (Spanish) U18s, but you’ve now got older guys and you’ve got guys with more experience on the court. The first day of practice was really fast for him. And certainly, had a chance to get acclimated once we started up school.”
Grujicic was 5 or 6 years old when his mother landed a job at the French embassy in Berlin, Germany, and his family moved there. His memories of Arles, France, his birthplace, are minimal as a result.
German became a necessity to pick up alongside his mother’s native French as Grujicic started school in Berlin as a child. English first pursed his lips through the American movies his father, a former professional basketball player in his native Serbia, put on with French subtitles.
“My dad was putting on movies ever since we were able to read, so he was putting on English movie subtitles in French,” Grujicic said. “So we were basically forced to read the English part that was being said. But that's kind of how I started to speak English, so I started speaking English at like 7, 8, pretty early on.”
At that time, Grujicic’s primary sport was martial arts. He practiced capoeira, a Brazilian martial art that blends acrobatics and dance with self-defense, and aikido, a Japanese martial art that translates to “the way of the harmonious spirit.” It seeks to practice self-defense that doesn’t cause bodily injury to an attacker, and is as much about overcoming one’s self and learning discipline as it is overcoming a foe.
But as the now 6-foot-7 Grujicic started towering over other children his age, his father introduced him to – or more accurately shoved him toward – basketball.
“It’s funny because my dad actually forced me to play,” Grujicic said. “I was so much taller than the other kids. I didn't even want to play, because the basketball academy we had in the school, they had all my brother's friends who were older, and kind of like, I wouldn't say bullying me, but they were teasing me a little bit. But then I stuck through it, and luckily we had a great coach there. That's kind of how I started with basketball.”
Some children “forced” into a sport by their parents resent the activity. Grujicic, then 8 years old, fell in love with basketball the instant he started playing. He started watching countless NBA and European games. Any basketball content around the ‘80s and ‘90s era of the NBA, especially. He wanted to model his game after Michael Jordan.
“I always liked MJ,” Grujicic said. “I used to watch the 30 for 30 documentaries like Bad Boys Pistons, Larry (Bird) against Magic (Johnson). That was always fun. So I'd say definitely MJ, and then these last couple years I just try to take small attributes from each player. Shai (Gilgeuos-Alexander), some stuff that he does, some footwork that (Luka) Doncic has. So that's been different, but I think the first guy was MJ.”
As Grujicic excelled on the court, European professional teams came knocking. An opportunity to play with Barcelona in Spain came, and he grabbed it without hesitation. He averaged 12.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and two assists across 21 games for Barca 2 this past season, which plays in the fourth tier of Spanish professional basketball. He shot 48.5% from the field and 33.6% from 3. He also got a taste of the top tier of Spanish pro ball, playing in five total games with Barcelona’s A-squad.
Some of Grujicic's greatest accolades this past season came outside his main club. He played one game with Barca's U19 team, but it happened to be the Spanish U19 national championship game, and he posted 20 points to take home MVP honors. In the Adidas Next Generation Tournament this past February and May, he collected three 20-point games across seven appearances, averaging 14.1 points and 3.6 rebounds. He was the MVP of the Ulm qualifiers for that tourney.
Through all of it, playing college basketball in the United States remained on his mind.
“I think it was summer 2023 after the European Championships when my agent already told me that college might be an option,” Grujicic said. “Because the summer of 2023 was the summer where a couple more Europeans than normal went to the NCAA. Last summer, a lot more went, and then this summer it exploded.”
Basketball Without Borders Europe brought Grujicic another MVP honor, but also played a role in putting him on the radar of Diebler and Ohio State. The Buckeyes, impressed by his achievements there and in his European tournaments, extended him an offer. A few Zoom calls later, and he was on his way to Columbus.
“My talks with Coach Diebler, I think that was for sure the biggest factor,” Grujicic said. “Then also the interest they showed in me after the first Zoom we had. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do any visits, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“The interest they showed in me after the first Zoom we had. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do any visits, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”– Mathieu Grujicic on why he chose Ohio State
NCAA rules about transfers kept Grujicic from participating in summer activities with the team. He sat on the sidelines while embracing Ohio State’s culture and building bonds with his new teammates.
“I’ve been really impressed since that first Monday to yesterday, just how much he’s improved in understanding what we’re doing, limiting some of those turnovers he had in the first couple days of practice and becoming more efficient,” Diebler said. “It’s really interesting because we’re viewing things through a lens of everybody who’s been here since June. He was around, got to watch, but couldn’t participate. And then missed stretches because he was gone with his national team. So, sometimes I’ve gotta remind myself of that. And I’ve just been really impressed with the progress he’s made so far.”
Since he couldn’t practice, it was an easy decision to let Grujicic return to Europe and compete with Team Germany in the U18 European championships this summer. All he did was rattle off two 30-point performances, averaging 23.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. Finally able to practice with Ohio State once the school year started, the college game has been a major adjustment for Grujicic, as Diebler alluded to.
“Not necessarily the playstyle, just the play speed,” Grujicic said. “We play very, very fast. And also, considering the fact that I was playing in Spain, which is one of the countries in Europe that plays the fastest basketball, knowing that this year is still a lot faster than it was in Spain. It’s not been too tough, just because we get a lot of reps in, I get a lot of reps in. But yeah, that was an adjustment.”
At least Grujicic’s time in Spain removed any homesick feelings from his move stateside.
“I've been gone from home the last three years,” Grujicic said. “The only major difference was the time difference. Right now it's six hours plus there. It's 4:30 (here) now, so there it's 10:30. That's a little tough to be in communication with them, because when I come to class, or after class, after practice, I'll be having short windows to have a phone call. But I wouldn't say that the homesickness plays a part. I haven't been homesick, and coming to the states was something that I had planned and that I had worked for for so long that I feel like I'm just happy to be here and embracing every moment.”
Grujicic said a strict role hasn’t been set for him or many other players on Ohio State’s team yet, at least as of his interview with Eleven Warriors on Oct. 1. He feels he’s one of about “five dudes” who can bring the ball up the floor and distribute to teammates. And he added that “everyone can shoot.”
“I just think I bring versatility with my size, with my skill set, and a little bit of everything,” Grujicic said. “I gotta get better on defense, but I will bring more on defense here than people have seen from me before, and then on offense it’s shooting, passing and rebounding.”
As with his diversity in language, Grujicic’s diversity of basketball skills will serve him well after some development in Columbus.
