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Ante Zizic – 6’11” Center, Croatia, 19 Years Old
Ante Zizic has been playing in the Croatian League since 2012, and he has played for three teams. Zizic played for Split during the 2012-13 season, then moved to Ribola Kastela for the 2013-14 season. Before moving to Cibona Zagreb in 2014, playing alongside fellow big man, and Croatian national Ivica Zubac. Zubac has also entered this year’s NBA Draft. Both players are expected to be selected in the first round. Zizic moved to Cibona Zagreb in 2014 but didn’t make a significant impact until the 2015-16 season. Zizic was named 2015-16 ABA League Top Prospect.
Strengths
Zizic is a strong aggressive center that isn’t afraid of contact and looks to dominate the opposite center. With an above average wingspan measured at 7’3” Zizic has a natural ability to block shots and lock down the paint by intimidating other players. Zizic can run the floor well, too; weighing in at 254 pounds doesn’t stop Zizic from getting up and down faster than your average big man. Zizic is a good free throw shooter averaging 74% from the line, and he gets there due to his great ability to get to the basket in the pick and roll game. Charging to the basket with such aggression most players would do well just to get out of the way. Zizic also averaged 12 rebounds per 40 minutes on the court playing in Croatia, a solid number for a 19 year old kid. Zizic is surprisingly mobile for his size and should adapt well to the NBA level.
Weaknesses
Zizic will need to concentrate more at the next level since he plays with reckless abandon at times. In the NBA he will have to be a lot more patient when it comes to attacking the basket. NBA players will see Zizic as naïve and take charges and force offensive fouls from him. Zizic will need to improve his passing if he is to be successful in the NBA, especially as the league is evolving with big men being able to pass better and more frequently every year. Passing is certainly a weakness of Zizic’s, as he averaged just 15 assists in his last season in Croatia. All of Zizic’s weaknesses do make sense considering he is only 19 years old.
NBA Potential
Zizic has burst on to the NBA radar very quickly, and his stock should rise after his workouts. Zizic wouldn’t be the first big man to come out of the Croatian or Adriatic League. NBA big men Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic both came out of the such league’s and have gone on to establish themselves as solid NBA prospects. Zizic should do the same, he brings a special skill set that NBA teams love to see from European big men. He’s extremely physical and as strong as an ox. Zizic will become an energetic big man coming of the bench in his early developmental years, before achieving his real goal of becoming an NBA starter.
NBA Player Comparison
Ante Zizic brings a very similar skill set as Minnesota Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic. They both have a perfect mix of aggression, energy and power. Zizic may not be the same nationality as Pekovic, but he did play in the same league. Pekovic grew into an intimidating big man, and he has used his strong stature to his advantage. Zizic can do the same if he lands in the right situation.
Watch to see where Ante Zizic ends up on draft day, and be sure to keep yourself updated with our complete coverage of the 2016 NBA Draft.
