Who is Ante Zizic? (Great article)

[CelticsElite]

Link: https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2017/06/16/meet-celtics-prospect-ante-zizic

found a long and great article describing the Celtics drafting zizic, how they went from just liking him to really loving him as he destroyed competition last season, and zizics accomplishments and development from birth to now.

Here's an excerpt:

Then it was May, and the Celtics were getting their butts beaten on the block and the boards every game of all three playoff series. They needed a big man. A rebounder. A physical presence in the paint. There was a giant hole in this team’s path to real legitimacy and — who is Ante Zizic? He was the peg. The missing piece. Once a giant question mark, Zizic was now a potential answer.

“I still remember the first time I saw him play,” Celtics legend Dino Radja said over the phone. He and Zizic are both sons of Split, Croatia. “He was very skinny. I just remember him running. It was one of those situations where you’re watching 10 guys out on the court, and you see one that’s just different.”

Radja has known Zizic his whole life.

“He has great habits,” Radja said. “He runs the floor well. He goes after every rebound. And he has a good head. He’s not a “Now I made my money, so I don’t care anymore” kind of guy. I think he’s going to be a good player here.”

Its a few weeks old but more relevant after his recent performance

[Androslav]

The sky is the limit!
Celtics have him on a 4-year deal.

[CelticsElite]

^agreed

[colincb]

From an ESPN 2016 re-draft article:

Ford: 5. Ante Zizic, Boston Celtics

    I debated between Yabusele and Zizic and I know the Celtics are very high on both, as are NBA scouts for some other teams. His size, strength, toughness and skill set make Zizic a big man to watch for the Celtics' future. If Jaylen Brown improves, the Celtics will have had a heck of a draft. And who would've thought Brown might be their third best prospect from 2016?


    Pelton: 5. Ante Zizic, Boston Celtics

    I'm going with the other first-rounder the Celtics stashed, No. 23 pick Zizic, who has split time between KK Cibona in his native Croatia and Darussafaka in Turkey. Between the two stops, Zizic has averaged 20.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per 36 minutes on 67.0 percent shooting. Just 20, Zizic could be part of Boston's rotation next season when he's scheduled to join the team.

    In the longer term, he could follow in the footsteps of Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic as centers who have translated success in the Adriatic League to the NBA.

Jokic is probably outside his reach, but I could see him surpass Nurkic easily enough. His post game is raw, but he's 20, has improved rapidly and steadily and, despite the infinite wisdom of CBlog, the Cs are happy with him.

[IDreamCeltics]

From an ESPN 2016 re-draft article:

Ford: 5. Ante Zizic, Boston Celtics

    I debated between Yabusele and Zizic and I know the Celtics are very high on both, as are NBA scouts for some other teams. His size, strength, toughness and skill set make Zizic a big man to watch for the Celtics' future. If Jaylen Brown improves, the Celtics will have had a heck of a draft. And who would've thought Brown might be their third best prospect from 2016?


    Pelton: 5. Ante Zizic, Boston Celtics

    I'm going with the other first-rounder the Celtics stashed, No. 23 pick Zizic, who has split time between KK Cibona in his native Croatia and Darussafaka in Turkey. Between the two stops, Zizic has averaged 20.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per 36 minutes on 67.0 percent shooting. Just 20, Zizic could be part of Boston's rotation next season when he's scheduled to join the team.

    In the longer term, he could follow in the footsteps of Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic as centers who have translated success in the Adriatic League to the NBA.

Jokic is probably outside his reach, but I could see him surpass Nurkic easily enough. His post game is raw, but he's 20, has improved rapidly and steadily and, despite the infinite wisdom of CBlog, the Cs are happy with him.

Yawn, when Zizic has played against a 7 footer let me know.  Rebounding well against summer league dregs with no actual bigs on the team isn't much of an accomplishment.   

[CelticsElite]

From an ESPN 2016 re-draft article:

Ford: 5. Ante Zizic, Boston Celtics

    I debated between Yabusele and Zizic and I know the Celtics are very high on both, as are NBA scouts for some other teams. His size, strength, toughness and skill set make Zizic a big man to watch for the Celtics' future. If Jaylen Brown improves, the Celtics will have had a heck of a draft. And who would've thought Brown might be their third best prospect from 2016?


    Pelton: 5. Ante Zizic, Boston Celtics

    I'm going with the other first-rounder the Celtics stashed, No. 23 pick Zizic, who has split time between KK Cibona in his native Croatia and Darussafaka in Turkey. Between the two stops, Zizic has averaged 20.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per 36 minutes on 67.0 percent shooting. Just 20, Zizic could be part of Boston's rotation next season when he's scheduled to join the team.

    In the longer term, he could follow in the footsteps of Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic as centers who have translated success in the Adriatic League to the NBA.

Jokic is probably outside his reach, but I could see him surpass Nurkic easily enough. His post game is raw, but he's 20, has improved rapidly and steadily and, despite the infinite wisdom of CBlog, the Cs are happy with him.

Yawn, when Zizic has played against a 7 footer let me know.  Rebounding well against summer league dregs with no actual bigs on the team isn't much of an accomplishment.   

can't deny the promising signs