The second prospect we’ll take a look at today shows a number of unique tools for his size, yet leaves you wondering if the NBA will fit anywhere into his future. Tomislav Zubcic is an athletic Croatian forward with incredible talent on the court, but seems to be soft both physically and mentally at this point in his development.
Zubcic has bulked up since the last time DraftExpress was able to look at him, with most of the added bulk coming in his upper body. Though he has the skills of a three on the offensive end, his size (6’11” without shoes) will probably place him at the four before all is said and done.
A very good athlete who gets up and down the court, Zubcic has good explosiveness to go with his size and length. A solid finisher at the rim, the Croatian has an excellent shooting stroke with range that should extend beyond the NBA three point line without a problem. The forward plays exclusively facing the basket at this point, but will be able to attack opposing 4s off the dribble, and his excellent feel for the game allows him to find the open shooters on the drive.
On the down-side, Zubcic doesn’t really defend all that well at any position at this point. Physically, you hope that some added strength would toughen him up as a player, but there’s no guarantee for this to happen. He tends to get frustrated when his perimeter shots aren’t falling, and his lack of intensity doesn’t help when it comes to defense and rebounding.
Zubcic has the skills to evolve into a very unique player, however it’s tough to evaluate his draft stock until we see if he can make further progress with his body, and find a way to make an impact in European basketball. He currently plays for Croatian powerhouse Cibona Zagreb, which had a fantastic season but was unable to get him any playing time whatsoever.
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