Ante Zizic, Croatia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx9Fu7NzwtY
Age: 19 years old Size: 6’11, 240 pounds
Last Season’s Stats: 14.4 points; 8.5 rebounds; 0.7 assists per game
Percentages: 65.3% from the field; N/A from three-point; 72.4 percent from the free throw line
Ante Zizic is your old school center through and through. He does not bring with him much of a jump shot and is your stereotypical low-post center. He is a great rebounder and moves well for his size. While he is not too versatile, he could be a good rim-protecting backup center in time.
He sports a 7-foot-3 wingspan and moves incredibly well. He has a nose for the ball and tends to find himself right in the middle of the action more often then not. A lot of his magnetism towards the ball has to do with his motor. He never stops. While he is not a magnificent athlete he can play above the rim to a degree. He also carries experience in droves. He has been playing professionally in Croatia since before he was 15 years old.
While all of that sounds fantastic, he does not bring any versatility to his game. He does not handle the ball well or have vision to create space. He struggles to score outside of the restricted area and is not an explosive athlete. He has a lot of development left and for a team like the Nuggets, he is not needed. Chalk me up as a skeptic that we even think about Zizic this year’s draft.
