Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – With strong scoring and tenacious rebounding, Milan Jaksic helped his high school team (Kennedy Clippers in Windsor, Ont.) make the final of the Ontario AAA High School championships in March, earning a silver medal.

The 6-foot-6, 225-pound power forward will next bring his talents west, signing on to join the MacEwan Griffins men's basketball team in 2020-21, head coach Mike Connolly announced on Friday.

Jaksic's potential to affect both ends of the floor at the Canada West level is apparent.

"Milan is a hard-working player who competes at a very high level and is also very skilled at his position," said Connolly. "Milan adds depth to our front court and will have an immediate impact with his tenacity and hard-working style of play."

Not only does Jaksic have the ability and frame to carve out space and get things done in the paint, he can score from beyond the arc, too, making him a multi-dimensional weapon for Connolly to employ.

"He can score from inside and outside with a decent three-point shot," said the Griffins' bench boss. "He can stretch the defence with his three-point shooting ability and his skill level allows him to put the ball on the floor and make plays off the dribble.

"Milan will have a great future with the Griffins and will be able to help immediately on the court adding to our front-court rotations."

Jaksic is entering MacEwan's Bachelor of Science program in Computer Sciences.

 "Milan is another good student whose character is of the highest level and we look forward to watching him grow and develop," said Connolly.