Two months after the end of the season, Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot continues his quest to rebuild the Dukes’ roster, his efforts paying a big dividend Friday when 6-foot-10 Dusan Mahorcic, a transfer from N.C. State, announced on Instagram that he will enroll this year.

Mahorcic started nine of the first 10 games at the beginning of last season for N.C. State, averaging 8.7 points and 6.6 rebounds and shooting 64.3% from the field (36 of 56). He injured his knee in the Coppin State game Dec. 6 and missed the remainder of the season. Before his injury, Mahorcic started for N.C. State against Kansas and Pitt, scoring four and nine points, respectively.

N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts was eager to watch Mahorcic develop last season.

“I knew I was going to get an energy guy,” he told 247Sports at the outset of the season. “You know, a guy who is about what N.C. State is about. You know, he’s a hard-headed guy. He brings it every day. He’s the type of guy you cheer for. He’s going to get on the floor. He’s going to block a shot. He’s going to jump up and down. He’s tailor made for what our program is about.”

When his surgically repaired knee heals, Mahorcic may give the Dukes’ a solid presence in the paint after 6-10 Austin Rotroff, who played from 2018-2023, exhausted his eligibility and signed a professional contract with BBC Sparta Bartreng in Luxembourg.

Duquesne will be Mahorcic’s sixth school in six seasons after starting his career at Division II Lewis (Ill.) College and Moberly Area (Mo.) Community College in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. He came to the U.S. from Belgrade, Serbia, in 2015 without knowing how to write or speak English, he told 247Sports.

He also has played at Illinois State and Utah. At Illinois State in 2020-2021, he averaged 9.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 59.1% from the field.

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