This post was updated March 30 at 8:32 p.m.
The most populated city of Serbs in the world is Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.
The next-most populated city of Serbs isn’t a Serbian metropolis or even a European one.
It’s Chicago, Illinois.
In the Windy City, 300,000 Serbs have cast roots and raised children in a robust immigrant community, as did Angela Dugalić’s family.
“My parents were born and raised in Serbia. They immigrated to Chicago, and I’m born and raised in Chicago,” Dugalić said. “But I always say I’m born and raised in a Serbian household, which is very different to me.”
The now-senior forward for UCLA women’s basketball was once a young athlete who discovered a role model in former Serbian national player and current Toledo women’s basketball assistant coach, Danielle Page.
When Dugalić’s AAU coach, Jerald Davis, learned of her admiration for Page, he decided to reach out.
Little did he know, Dugalić was already on Page’s radar as a junior in high school.
“I made the call to Danielle Page, and Danielle already knew who she (Dugalić) was,” Davis said. “Page was the one who reached out to the Serbian senior women’s program because she had just retired. … That was how the connection came to Angela.”
Page’s overseas recommendation proved pivotal for the 17-year-old.
Dugalić sorted out her passport and crossed the Atlantic that summer, welcomed onto a professional women’s team comprised of veteran players.
“Everyone around me was, like, 30. Basically they’re like my moms,” Dugalić said. “I had to mature because it was a completely different environment, and I was the only kid there. The first year was very hard for me, definitely an adjustment. I was skeptical of going back, but I knew not that it wasn’t an option, but that I had to go back.”
Davis said Dugalić’s early exposure to the European professional circuit shaped the player that she is today.
“Going to Serbia totally changed the dynamics of how she played, how she thought about the game, the level of confidence she had,” Davis said. “I’m not surprised she’s where she is because physically, she had these tools at a younger age. And you match that with her desire, with her going to Serbia, with the whole dynamics of UCLA – she’s just grown into it.”
Balancing commitments between the United States and Serbia also factored into Dugalić’s her recruiting process. The five-star considered offers from Oregon and UCLA, two Pac-12 programs with impressive pedigrees.
But one outshined the other at the time.
“I was looking at the flashy things at Oregon,” Dugalić said. “I just understood the publicity, that hype put out, and Oregon at that time was at their peak.”
But Davis said because Dugalić was in Serbia, she didn’t have the chance to officially visit UCLA.
She committed to Oregon.
Her experience in Eugene as part of the No. 1 recruiting class of 2020 imparted important lessons, but she eventually desired a change in scenery after averaging 3.4 points, four rebounds and 12.2 minutes.
“I never planned on transferring – it was almost like a sin when I talked about it with my family,” Dugalić said. “But I knew transferring to UCLA was going to be my only option. I didn’t give other schools a chance. … I didn’t want to make the same mistake twice is what I always say. So I came here.”
Inaugural year in the blue and gold
Despite transferring to UCLA for her second year of collegiate play, Dugalić didn’t move to Westwood for summer training.
Instead, she was at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.
That year, Team Serbia went 3-3, and Dugalić averaged three points and five rebounds in 14.6 minutes of play per game.
Then it was time to prepare for the NCAA season.
Dugalić moved to Westwood in the fall, joined UCLA and trained in the preseason. But in a closed scrimmage against Texas, she endured a knee injury that kept her sidelined for three months.
While recovering, Dugalić learned how to continue to impact the team off the court. Having never endured any serious injuries in high school, she was forced outside of her comfort zone but found ways to foster a sense of community in contributing to the longevity of UCLA’s program.
“Every person who came here for a (recruiting) visit, I was going to try to be intentional and create a relationship with them so they actually felt welcomed,” Dugalić said. “They could see that maybe this year isn’t the best year that we’ve had, but that’s not our culture.”
Creating connections with people comes naturally for Dugalić, who approaches conversations and interactions with an inclusive lens created through her experiences at home alongside her extensive global endeavors.
“UCLA, Serbia, all these different experiences have helped her grow as a person who sees the world from so many different views, who understands it and is able to respect it,” Davis said.
Uncharted waters and a long-awaited return to action
The No. 1 recruiting class in the nation landed in Westwood the next year, and the eventually Sweet 16-bound Bruins reaped the rewards of that previous rebuilding year.
But Dugalić had to wait her turn on the bench again.
While preparing for the FIBA World Cup with Team Serbia in Australia, the then-junior tore her ACL.
“It was just a mix of me going back and forth flying from L.A. to Serbia, back and forth a couple times, not really recovering my body and not eating well, being stressed out about school,” Dugalić said. “That was honestly the hardest year of my life. … I tried to disassociate myself as much as possible because I wanted to be back on the court.”
The time off for rehab, however, ignited a resolve to become an integral building block for Team Serbia as it prepares for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
And upon her return to UCLA ahead of the 2023-2024 campaign, coach Cori Close said the coaching staff planned to test Dugalić at the four spot and senior forward Emily Bessoir at the three position.
But when Bessoir went down with a season-ending ACL injury while competing for Team Germany in November 2023, Dugalić’s role crystallized, and she secured the starting nod.
Dugalić has since emerged as a key starter for the Bruins. Her stat line has taken immense strides, and she averages 8.9 points and 6.4 rebounds in 24.1 minutes of play with 28 starts to her name.
But Close said her impact transcends the quantitative measurements.
“If you ask other coaches in the Pac-12, they really say she’s our X factor,” Close said. “She changes how we play defensively, she changes some things that we can do offensively. … She’s a real key in helping us be efficient on both sides of the ball.”
Dugalić’s versatility, cultivated through exposure to both European and American styles of play, makes her uniquely suited to thrive professionally in this age of basketball.
“Her game really fits the trajectory of where the game is going,” Close said. “That versatile four player – we call our point forward. We do have a lot of decisions that run through that four position, so credit to her and how hard she’s worked to expand that skillset.”
But first, Dugalić has unfinished business as a Bruin. No. 2 seed UCLA advanced to its second consecutive Sweet 16, and her support system from home continues to instill belief every step of the way.
“I was filling out my bracket the other day,” said Kim DeMarigny, Dugalić’s coach at Des Plaines High School. “I was telling her, … I think you can go all the way, Angela.”
And when the madness of March subsides, the Bruin contingent won’t have any lingering questions about Dugalić’s decision to return.
“Given some circumstances and talking to Cori and my Serbian coach, we decided that staying another year would be better,” Dugalić said. “And then next year: WNBA or Europe – I’m open to both.”
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