(LEBANON, Ill., May 21)—McKendree University men's basketball coach Chris Foster has added two more newcomers to the Bearcats' 2019-20 roster.
 
The latest to join the McKendree program are Jakobie Robinson from Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, Ind., and Aleksa Popovic, a native of Serbia who will be transferring to the Bearcats' squad from NCAA Division I Cleveland State University.
 
Robinson, a 6-foot-7 guard/forward, enjoyed a standout senior season at Warren Central. He averaged 8.8 points and a team-leading 6.7 rebounds per game on his way to All-State honors from the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. Robinson also led the Warriors with 68 assists and 57 steals to collect third-team All-County honors. Robinson was also selected to participate in the Marion County Coaches Association Senior All-Star Game.
 
As a junior, Robinson helped lead Warren Central to an Indiana Class 4A state championship.
 
"Jakobie is a versatile player with an extremely high basketball IQ," said Foster. "He is a very unselfish player and has the ability to make plays for himself and his teammates. Jakobie comes from a winning program at Warren Central and understands what it takes to be successful. His high basketball IQ and winning mentality will be a great fit for our program."
 
Popovic appeared in 13 games as a freshman at Cleveland State, chipping in 13 points and 12 rebounds in limited action for the Vikings. Prior to that, Popovic starred for the BC Partizan Belgrade U19 team, one of the premier club teams in Eurpoe. He averaged 13.9 points per game while shooting nearly 51 percent from the floor. Popovic also added 6.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game for Partizan.  
 
A three-year member of the Partizan program, Popovic averaged 10.1 points, 6-9 rebounds and two assists per contest for the U19 squad in 2016-17. He also played for the Serbian U16 National team in 2015 and attended the U18 and U20 Serbian National Team camps.
 
"Aleksa is mature beyond his years on the basketball court," said Foster. "He has great international experience as part of the Serbian National Team and continued to develop during his year at Cleveland State. His size and versatility will be a great fit for our style of play."
 
The additions of Robinson and Popovic brings the total number of newcomers for the 2019-20 McKendree basketball squad to six. The Bearcats have also added freshman signees Bryson Bultman from nearby Nashville High School and Wendell DeMyers from Avon High School in Indianapolis, along with transfers Oliver Stephen and Luke Hensler, both from Southwestern Illinois College.