The professional basketball dream of Kyle Zunic has come to fruition after the Sanctuary Point product penned a two-year deal with the Perth Wildcats.
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Zunic, who spent four seasons with the Winthrop Eagles in the United States, will join the Western Australian-based franchise as a development player for the next two seasons.
The 22-year-old, whose father Zoran played for the Sydney Supersonics in the 1980s, is excited to begin his professional basketball journey at the Wildcats.
"It's always been a dream of mine to be a pro, and to be able to start my career at a place like Perth is an unreal feeling," Zunic, a former Sanctuary Point Public School student, said in a statement to the NBL.
"I grew up watching the Wildcats be so elite in the NBL and to be able to play for such a successful organisation is a dream come true.
"After speaking to Danny (Mills) and Scott (Morrison) and seeing how committed they are to winning, there was no better option to head out west.
"It will be such a great opportunity to continue to develop my game."
During his time at the Winthrop Coliseum, which resulted in back-to-back Big South Conference Championships, Zunic averaged 6.5 points, 1.6 assists and 2.9 rebounds while picking up 73 steals.
Zunic, who secured a Big South Conference All-Academic honour in 2020, led the NCAA in charges-taken and incredibly won 42 of his last 47 games.
"Kyle is a winning basketball player and brings a very successful history not only at the various levels of Australian basketball he has competed in but also at Winthrop, where he was a part of one of the winningest US college programs in recent years," said Wildcats head coach Scott Morrison said in a statement to the NBL.
"He makes good decisions on the offensive end and brings a competitive energy on defence that will fit in well with our returning backcourt and team mindset.
"We will definitely expect Kyle to compete for minutes with the rest of our backcourt.
"It is a long season with opportunities for everyone on the roster."
Zunic, who will be joined by Corey Shervill as the club's development players next season, recently represented the University of Sunshine Coast in the NBL1 North competition, with his team making it through to the semi-finals.
During his 12 games, he's averaging 12.9 points, 5.1 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
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Courtney Ward
Sports Journalist for South Coast Register and Milton-Ulladulla Times, who loves all things sport and travel. All views are my own.
Sports Journalist for South Coast Register and Milton-Ulladulla Times, who loves all things sport and travel. All views are my own.
