By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With the NCAA paying unprecedented amounts of money to teenagers, the NBL giving them a platform to shine via the “next generation” program, top European clubs not having the luxury to grow talent at the top level, with the priority being winning, and US prep schools also in the mix, the news of Mikka Muurinen signing a three-year deal with Partizan was totally unexpected.
So the young player himself explained his decision, speaking to Finnish media outlet “Yle“.
“Ever since I was little, I’ve dreamed of fans in Serbia, Greece, and Turkey. It’s great to see them”, he explains, while also admitting that he aims to play in the NCAA and the NBA.
“After the Eurobasket, I started looking for a place, whether it was the current, or now former, Arizona Compass high school team, or someone else. We looked through all the options and this is the most suitable one at this moment”, Muurinen says.
With the new NCAA rules and an NIL offer looming, the Finn openly admitted that right now he sees himself playing in the NCAA for the 2026-27 season and then getting drafted in the summer of 2027.
As he said: “Still with the same plan. After this upcoming season, the goal would be to go to college and then enter the draft in the summer of 2027. Just a stop in Serbia for now. It’s possible that if things go well there and I like it, I’ll skip college before the draft. But I don’t think so, because I still have the desire to go to college”.