By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Croatian basketball has a long tradition of impressive centers with grand players such as Stojan Vrankovic, Nikola Vujcic and of course…. Dino Radja. The latter has also been mentioned as the idol of the player who wants to carry the torch from his great predecessors. The young stud of Cibona Zagreb, Ante Zizic.
“That’s a big compliment for me,” Radja for FIBA’s website. “I hope we will finally meet over the summer, as Ante will become an important piece in our four-year Olympic cycle of the national team. I don’t think he is too young to be the leader on the court, why would he be? We got used to the main players of the team being 24, 25… But that doesn’t mean Ante cannot lead Cibona just because he is 19”, Radja explained.
Playing in the same position isn’t the only connection between these two after all. Radja spent all four seasons of his NBA career playing for the Boston Celtics, the club that picked Zizic in the 2016 NBA draft.
The 19-year old center decided to stay in Cibona for this season as well and the player that influenced him the most, thinks his choice was right.
“There is no need to rush for Ante, I believe he made a smart choice by staying in Europe for another season. He needs to become NBA ready, otherwise it would be really hard for him to earn his playing time overseas.”