Former ’Bow Jankovic battling for Heat roster spot

In the Bahamas, all Stefan Jankovic could do was look around in wonder.

Not at the island lifestyle — he’d experienced plenty of that in Hawaii — but at his sudden peers standing next to him for a week of Miami Heat training camp.

“You kind of soak in a lot,” the former Rainbow Warrior big man said in a phone interview after camp broke Saturday. “I mean, you’re around countless NBA players. Guys like Goran Dragic, Udonis Haslem that have been in the league for a while. So you tend to stand near them in the drills, see how they do things and listen to them.”

The undrafted Big West Player of the Year was signed by Miami to a partially guaranteed contract in July and is still battling for a full roster spot as the Heat’s preseason games get underway. However, Jankovic was ruled out against the Washington Wizards today with a right foot sprain, the Heat announced on Monday.

Jankovic, in fact, missed many of the drills in training camp at the Atlantis Resort with the ill-timed injury he suffered going for a dunk in a pickup game. It might’ve had the effect of stretching some long odds even further.

The 6-foot-11 “stretch 4” wasn’t too down about it. He’s confident he’ll get in for some of the Heat’s seven remaining preseason games after today.

No matter what happens by the time the Heat have to trim their roster from 20 to 15 — for the Oct. 26 regular-season opener — Jankovic knows he has options.

“I’m not putting a lot of pressure on it,” Jankovic said. “What happens, happens. Not downplaying it at all, it’s a huge time in my life. My first year, my rookie year. I have a big opportunity to make the team, and I’m going to take full advantage and try to do my best.”

He did enough in several NBA Summer League appearances for the Heat to get signed through the preseason. Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel in Florida reported Jankovic has a six-figure guarantee for 2016-17, along with guards Briante Weber and Rodney McGruder and forward Okaro White. None of those four is guaranteed a roster spot, however.

“I feel like I do belong in the NBA,” Jankovic said. “Putting pressure on these games, I’ve kind of gotten past that point. It’s basketball. That’s what I’ve learned watching training camp, this and that. Everyone is 1,000 times better. I’m not downplaying it. But it’s basketball at the end of the day. It’s something I’ve been doing practically my whole life.”

His former UH teammates Roderick Bobbitt, Aaron Valdes and Quincy Smith all found jobs in Europe this offseason (although Bobbitt’s tenure in Croatia was short-lived). Europe is still a possibility for the Serbian-born Jankovic, who is represented by Rade Filipovich, the father of former UH guard Niko Filipovich.

The Heat are in a state of flux with the departure of guard Dwyane Wade and forward Chris Bosh sidelined due to an ongoing issue with blood clots. Even with the veteran Bosh out, frontcourt competition was stiff.

Jankovic found himself marveling at the leadership of Haslem, the longtime Heat forward. He’d try to sit near the veterans during meals to hear them swap stories.

“They’re known for their Heat culture,” he said. “It’s tough. You have to be conditioned like no other. You have to work your ass off. Everything I did in college, where I thought I was working hard, it was a cakewalk, when you look at it now.”

There was at least one friendly face during camp.

Former UH guard Anthony Carter is now an assistant in the Heat system with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the D-League. He is the only other Rainbow to win a conference player of the year award, and is the last ex-‘Bow to make an NBA regular-season roster, in 2012 with Toronto.

“We talked every day,” Jankovic said. “Hawaii, all that stuff. We kind of joked around. … We talk about the islands a little bit.”

There’s a chance they could get further acquainted; there’s been speculation Jankovic could be stashed away with the Skyforce for the coming season.

“Everything you hear about the NBA, top notch, it’s true,” Jankovic said. “You have to separate yourself somehow.”

UH holding fundraiser

UH announced a 2016-17 Men’s Basketball Tipoff Event fundraiser for Oct. 20 at the Stan Sheriff Center, at a cost of $100 per person.

The preseason event functions as a meet and greet with the overhauled Rainbow Warriors. Starting at 5:30 p.m., there will be a silent auction, then a dinner and program. Proceeds go toward men’s basketball, with emphasis on the players’ nutrition.

The team’s Green &White scrimmage is expected to be on Oct. 22. The regular-season opener is Nov. 11 against SIU-Edwardsville.

To purchase tickets, contact Bobbie Omoto at bomoto@hawaii.edu or 956-6501.