NBA Comparison: Fabricio Oberto/Nikola Pekovic

Strengths: Solid Wingspan (measured at 7-3 feet)… His long arms help him be effective on both ends of the floor… Runs the floor well for a Big … Solid athlete … Very active and energetic type of player … Has a high motor and always plays 100% … Considered a hard worker …  When he has time to gather he can finish strong at the rim … Can play above the rim … Not only he is not afraid of contact, but he is actually looking for it on both ends of the floor … Relentless rebounder on both ends of the floor … Maybe the best rebounder of his generation in Europe … Has a great feel of positioning which helps him to gather rebounds … Can establish deep position in the post … Improving post game, with a right-hand Jump hook as a go-to move … Can turn over both shoulders when he plays with his back to the basket … Moves well without the ball … Effective on Pick and Roll situations … Always rolls hard to the basket after he sets a screen … Has soft hands and makes difficult catches in traffic and on the move … He gets to the free throw line at a very high rate (almost 8 attempts per 36 minutes in Adriatic League) … Solid Free throw shooter … Ft% and Shooting mechanics suggest that he has a lot of potential with his jump shot out to 18 feet if he continues to work … Willing defender … Can guard the Pick And Roll at an acceptable rate … A good shot-blocker, thanks to his long arms and good timing … Already knows that is essential to jump vertical when defending, making it difficult for opponents to score in front of him … Active hands and feet on defense … Solid off-ball defender …

Weaknesses: Good but not great size for a center … Not a versatile player, since he can only play at the center position … Considered an average athlete by NBA standards … Has to continue bulking up his body … The fact that he needs time to gather before jumping can really hurt him at the next level … His footwork needs work on both ends of the floor … He might not be afraid of contact, but in reality he has problems against bigger and more athletic bigs … Has problems finishing through traffic … Not as adept at finishing at the rim with his left hand … His post game is mostly dependant upon strength and needs polishing … Although he can turn to both shoulders when he plays with his back to the basket, the truth is that he actually doesn’t have many counter moves … For the time being he can’t be considered a threat from mid-range… He doesn’t have a Face to the basket game… At times he tries to do things too fast, which leads to bad decisions… Feel for the game is a question mark … Has to improve his ball handling …Turnover prone (3.4 turnovers per 36 minutes in Adriatic League) … Bad passer (barely averages 0.5 assists per 36 minutes in Adriatic League)… His Assist/Turnover Ratio is bad (1 assist every 6 turnovers in Adriatic League) … When he sets screens on Pick And Roll situations he has the tendency to roll at the wrong side … Lateral quickness is average … Struggles defending the Pick And Roll against quick guards … Occasionally loses concentration on Defense, because he is too focused on the ball … It’s difficult to imagine him become an elite rim protector because of his average size and athleticism …

Notes: He played his first professional game before he turned 16 years old … Has been a member of all Croatian junior National teams … He is the younger brother of International Croatian player Andrija Zizic, who has played for some of the best Basketball teams in Europe, such as Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Barcelona … The two brothers are now teammates in Cibona Zagreb, with the 17 years older Andrija coming off the bench, backing up Ante…

Stefanos Makris 4/5/16