By Giannis Rammas/ info@eurohoops.net
Eurohoops met the young gun of the Turks in Istanbul last week and once more Zizic repeated that he will be wearing a Celtics jersey next season.
As he explained: “The original plan was to stay in Cibona for one more year and go from there to the NBA, but midway through that year they were experiencing some financial problems and they had to sell some players. They chose to sell me since they didn’t have any big expectations in the ABA Liga and the EuroCup. There are stronger teams in Croatia and since it’s going to be hard to win a trophy, they chose to sell me to Darussafaka. I chose Darussafaka because, like I said, they are a great team and because here I can better prepare myself for the NBA”.
And this preparation is almost completed: “I’m going to the NBA next year. Last summer, I think I was very young for the NBA, while I also wanted to work on my game a bit more. It’s certainly easier to improve your game playing alongside the best, but you have to have some experience before you go. It used to be very difficult for Europeans to make the decision to go to the NBA, but now it’s easier. If you get the chance, you’ll grab it immediately because the NBA is a dream for everyone, you’ll be playing with the best. That’s what I want now, to play with the best and become one of them”.
Zizic plays under coach David Blatt in Darussafaka who doesn’t like to speak about the NBA as Zizic explains: “No, nothing about the NBA. When he tells us something, it’s either instructions or advice. He’s always willing to help”.
And now the goal for Zizc is to play in the EuroLeague playoffs and even make it to the Final Four: “We lost in the details some games we could and should have won, like in Barcelona, Tel Aviv and Milan. I believe we’re going to be in the playoffs. There are four Turkish teams in the competition and everyone is expecting 2 or 3 of them to be in the playoffs and 1 or 2 in the Final Four. It’s a big deal for those teams that it’s taking place in Istanbul. Istanbul is safe now. Everything is moving along normally. People should come”.