NBA Comparison: Ivica Zubac

Strengths: A rim protector, rim runner extraordinaire … A smart, coachable player who has shown steady improvement through the course of his freshman season at Duke … Conditioning and body have improved over past 6 months … Runs the floor well for a 7-2 player and converts in transition at a high rate … Anchored the Blue Devils defense and alters as many shots with his presence as he blocks … Shows potential to wreak havoc on defense at the next level with his massive 9’8 standing reach, 7’5 wingspan and 7’2 frame … Some of his impact does not show directly on the box score … Impacts opposing team’s FG% and flow offensively … Has become a dominant defensive presence, in stretches, at the college level … Has some innate shot blocking ability, reacting well and not biting on fakes too easily … Has a good level of energy and desire for a big man …. Extremely efficient converting FGs, granted many of those are allyoop dunks … Highly efficient converting 71% of his FGs … Has shown a solid ability as the roll man in pick and roll situations … Knocked down 4-of-16 three pointers, which is encouraging, but not a big enough sample size to draw a conclusion from … A solid rebounder with good strength … An enticing, upside pick, but would come with a great deal of risk if taken high. The gamble is that his offensive game still has a great deal of development left and he will become an starter that can impact the game at both ends … Very mature individual with high character … Intelligent, focused and shows a lot of attention to detail, which explains his improvement in a short period of time …

Weaknesses: Could be relegated to being a specialist and may struggle to stay on the floor in late game situations due to match ups … While shooting shows potential with his form and (76%) FT percentage, still has a long ways to go and has not proven the ability to score or create offense for himself on the perimeter … Was not really asked to create offense from the low post, so that aspect of his game remains extremely limited … Ball handling ability not really a part of his game at this point either … Has improved on stamina but still gets winded quickly and has to have his minutes limited to a degree … Respiratory system can sometimes be an issue for players his size and cardio struggles have popped up at times. Had one incident where he vomited while in the game … Foot speed hurts his ability to switch and guard quick opposing players on the perimeter … While he had a clear impact as a defensive rim protector, His 1.3 blocks per game (50 in 39 games) are slightly low considering his abilities … 21 minutes per game are a good start for a freshman player his “age”, but leaves some uncertainty about his ability to play heavy minutes throughout an NBA schedule … Lack of readiness and being perceived as a “project” that needs a few years to impact will likely make him a mid to late first rounder, as opposed to a mid lotto pick … Despite being an obvious standout with a great deal of potential on the defensive end of the floor, at times his inexperience show with blown assignments and spacing issues … Safe to call him raw and inconsistent on defense, despite possessing the ability to completely disrupt an opposing team’s offensive scheme … Long legs and big torso make him a little top heavy and not as balanced …

Notes: Measured: 7’0.75″, 9’8″ standing reach, 250 lbs, 7’4.5″ wingspan, 28.5″ max vert at the 2024 Basketball Without Borders … Measured: 7’1″, 9’5″ standing reach, 250 lbs, 7’5″ wingspan at the 2024 Nike Hoop Summit …Native of South Sudan … Played in at the 2024 Nike NBA Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon … Developed before Duke in the NBA Academy and NBA Africa programs …

Aran Smith 4/2/25