European NBA Prospect Rankings: Winter 2016
3. Ante Zizic, C, Darussafaka Dogus
Celtics Draft-and-stash (2016 Draft)
2016-2017 Stats: 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.2 blocks per game
The marriage of potential and NBA readiness is difficult to discern in some international prospects. Which is better; a player who is more certainly “NBA ready” but doesn’t have a high ceiling, or a player who has potential, but also needs a lot more development to get there? In the NBA Draft, you lean more towards potential, but internationally, a player who has shown the requisite skills to be able to fit into a given role is probably a safer bet than a prospect who may have an NBA-level skill or two at a young age. Sometimes, it’s so painfully obvious that a player fits the NBA style of play at a position that you can’t help but conclude that he’s going to succeed at the next level. Ante Zizic is that player.
Through half a season at Cibona, Zizic has fit the role of “energy bench big” to a T. He can score efficiently in volume off the pick-and-roll (shooting 67.2 percent from the field off mostly looks around the rim), he’s a power rebounder (17.9 percent rebound rate), and he’s shown flashes of developing further, both in shooting from range and passing from the paint. He has been destroying inferior competition all season, as well; he has had games of 37/20, 28/7, and 35/12 against teams that are currently in Eurocup and FIBA Champions League. Now, he’s headed to Darussafaka in the new year, in order to give a showcase for the Celtics against the top level of European competition.
Ante Zizic, Celtics stash & FIBA's elite center, signed six-month deal to play Euroleague for Boston-born David Blatt, his brother told me.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) December 26, 2016
For Dacka, we can already surmise what Zizic’s role will be. David Blatt has been attempting to go to war with Semih Erden and Furkan Aldemir at center, and while they have a pretty skilled five in Adrian Moerman, Zizic will provide the grit and power under the basket that the team has missed. This is a fantastic opportunity for him to showcase his talents, and if his 2016 was any indication, he’s ready to elevate his game to the next level in Euroleague, and the NBA soon after.