The SDSU men’s basketball program is after a big gun in the recruiting war.

The Daily Aztec has confirmed that SDSU head coach Fred Trenkle is heavily recruiting Predrag Materic, a highly regarded shooting guard from Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kan.

Materic, a 6-foot-6 210-pounder, averaged 14.5 points and 4.7 rebounds last season. Materic is originally from Yugoslavia, but moved to France in 1991 after war destroyed his hometown. While in Yugoslavia, Materic played on the same amateur team that produced Chicago Bulls star Tony Kukoc.

In France, Materic averaged 26 points and eight rebounds while playing on an 18-and-under club.

Before transferring to Barton J.C., Materic redshirted with the University of Connecticut. While at UConn, he had the task of guarding Ray Allen, who turned out to be a first-round draft pick in the NBA, every day at practice.

At UConn’s “Midnight Madness” two seasons ago, Materic won a three-point shooting contest against Allen and scored 15 points in the Blue-White Game.

The Daily Aztec contacted several basketball coaches in Kansas, and all of them had similar praise: “Materic is a pure shooter with exceptional skills.”

Indeed, last season at Barton J.C., he shot 42.9 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point land.

He visited Montezuma Mesa about two weeks ago on a recruiting trip. Cincinnati, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and UConn are also recruiting Materic, as well as other schools that couldn’t be confirmed by The Daily Aztec.