Oregon State Signs Vojin Sivlar of Serbia; Two Others Leave Team

The Beavers will be looking to improve upon an injury-plagued 2005-06 season that saw them finish 13-18 overall and 5-13 in the Pac-10 (tied for eighth).

Photo courtesy: Oregon State Beavers

CORVALLIS - The Oregon State men’s basketball roster has undergone two subtractions and one addition over the last month, as walk-on point guard Brett Casey informed the coaches that he intends to concentrate on baseball, followed by a decision to send letter-of-intent signee Calvin Haynes to a prep school in 2006-07.

The Beavers have filled the void by signing Vojin Sivlar, a point guard from Smederevo, Serbia, to a financial aid agreement, head coach Jay John announced Tuesday.

“We were thrown into a bit of a bind with the loss of Brett and the reassessment of Calvin’s situation at such a late date, but we feel very fortunate to be adding Vojin to the squad,” John said.

Casey (Corvallis, Ore./Crescent Valley HS) was not expected to play much as a true freshman last year, but was forced into the lineup after Lamar Hurd was injured.

Casey played in 17 games, starting three, and averaged 1.1 points and 1.1 assists in 10.8 minutes.

Once basketball season ended, he went over to the baseball diamond, where the Beavers are coached by his father, Pat Casey.

Brett saw no action during the Beavers’ 2006 national championship run.

“After we returned from recruiting in July, and after Brett played summer baseball, he said he wanted to meet with me,” John said. “He let me know that he just wanted to focus on baseball. We gave him a few days to think about it and to see if how firm he was with his decision, but his commitment is to baseball.”

Haynes (Reseda, Calif./Taft HS) was going to be one of four Beaver newcomers in 2006-07. He averaged 21.7 points as a high school senior and was a two-time all-state third team selection.

The Beavers will re-sign him this November for the 2007-08 season.

“Just recently, it became apparent that Calvin was going to fall short in his efforts to get eligible for fall term,” John said. “I did not want Calvin to spend a redshirt year trying to get eligible. He, his family and I met at length to discuss his situation, and together we made the decision that he would go to a prep school this year and get his eligibility intact. He’ll be able to play basketball at his prep school, so he’ll be ready to compete for minutes once he comes the following year, and he’ll still have his full eligibility.”

Sivlar (whose name is pronounced VORE-in ss-VEE-larr) is 6-foot-2, 165 pounds and 20 years old, and last played for KK Smederevo in the Serbia & Montenegro “B” league. He averaged 18 points, five assists and three rebounds in 2005-06. He graduated from the Sport Grammar School in Belgrade in 2005.

In 2000-01, he averaged 26 points for KK Radnicki Beograd in the “Pioneer” league, and in 2002-03 he averaged 30 points in the “Kadet” league.

That squad won the Geteborg Tournament in Sweden twice, and Sivlar was the MVP in 2002.

In 2003, Sivlar helped KK Lavovi 063 Beograd to second place in the “Junior” league and averaged 17 points.

Casey and redshirt freshman Josh Tarver were the only true point guards expected to return this season, so Sivlar will step into Casey’s spot.

“With Brett gone, we were in a situation where we needed a point guard to compete with Josh and to give us stability at the position,” John said. “Wesley Washington played some at the point last year, but we want him at his natural position (shooting guard). We’ve spent a lot of time in Europe and specifically Serbia. Vojin is a very good player and he was interested in coming to the U.S. and had already taken the SAT. We’re delighted to have him join the program.”

The Beavers will be looking to improve upon an injury-plagued 2005-06 season that saw them finish 13-18 overall and 5-13 in the Pac-10 (tied for eighth).

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