Kyle Zunic

Kyle Luke Zunic[1] (born 4 March 1999) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played four seasons of college basketball in the United States for the Winthrop Eagles before joining the Wildcats in 2021.

Kyle Zunic
Zunic with the Perth Wildcats in 2022
No. 22 – Perth Wildcats
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
LeagueNBL
Personal information
Born (1999-03-04) 4 March 1999
Sydney, New South Wales
NationalityAustralian
Listed height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Listed weight90 kg (198 lb)
Career information
High schoolLake Ginninderra
(Canberra, ACT)
CollegeWinthrop (2017–2021)
NBA draft2021: undrafted
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016–2017BA Centre of Excellence
2021USC Rip City
2021–presentPerth Wildcats
2022Warwick Senators
2023Northside Wizards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Australia
Universiade
Bronze medal – third place2019 ItalyTeam

Early life and career

Zunic was born in Sydney, New South Wales,[2] in the southern suburb of Kogarah.[3] His family later moved to Sanctuary Point, where he attended Sanctuary Point Public School.[4][5] Around 10 and 11 years old, he played rugby league. He started playing basketball in Shellharbour before moving to Wollongong to play representative basketball for the Illawarra Hawks.[6] He played for NSW Country at national tournaments.[7]

Zunic moved to Canberra to attend the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence and Lake Ginninderra College.[8] He played for the Centre of Excellence in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) in 2016 and 2017.[9] He averaged 8.0 points in his first season and 16.3 points in the second season.[9]

College career

In April 2017, Zunic signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for Winthrop University in the United States.[10]

As a freshman for the Winthrop Eagles in 2017–18,[2] Zunic played 26 games with nine starts and averaged 6.8 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 18.8 minutes per game.[11] He missed games with injuries to his ankles and appendix issues.[12]

As a sophomore in 2018–19, Zunic averaged career highs in points (8.6), rebounds (4.3), assists (1.9) and minutes (21.8).[11] He played 30 games and made 18 starts.[11] On 20 December 2018, he had a career-high 21 points and 10 rebounds against UMES.[2][13]

As a junior in 2019–20, Zunic was named to the Big South Conference All-Academic Team and helped the Eagles win the Big South Conference tournament.[2] He played 32 games with seven starts and averaged 5.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 18.7 minutes per game.[11] He became the 24th player in program history to hit 100 career 3-pointers.[2]

As a senior in 2020–21, Zunic was again named to the Big South Conference All-Academic Team[14] and helped the Eagles win the Big South Conference tournament for the second year in a row.[15] He played 25 games with a career-high 24 starts and averaged 5.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 19.6 minutes per game.[11]

College statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Winthrop 26918.8.428.372.7591.31.3.6.16.8
2018–19 Winthrop 301821.8.405.324.6674.31.9.7.28.6
2019–20 Winthrop 32718.7.393.309.7593.01.9.5.15.5
2020–21 Winthrop 252419.6.359.341.6092.61.4.8.15.0
Career 1135819.7.399.335.7052.91.6.6.16.5

Professional career

In June 2021, Zunic joined the USC Rip City of the NBL1 North.[16][17] In 12 games, he averaged 12.91 points, 6.33 rebounds, 5.08 assists and 1.16 steals per game.[18]

On 6 September 2021, Zunic signed with the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL) as a development player for the 2021–22 season.[19] He made his NBL debut on 3 December 2021, scoring two points in 17½ minutes as a starter in the Wildcats' 85–73 season-opening win over the Adelaide 36ers.[20][21] He became the first development player in NBL history to earn a start in his debut.[22] In 16 games, he averaged 1.7 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.[23]

Zunic joined the Warwick Senators for the 2022 NBL1 West season.[24] In 18 games, he averaged 17.78 points, 4.78 rebounds, 4.28 assists and 1.56 steals per game.[25]

On 24 May 2022, Zunic was elevated to the Wildcats' main roster on a two-year deal.[26] He appeared in 14 games during the 2022–23 NBL season, averaging 1.6 points per game.[27]

Zunic joined the Northside Wizards for the 2023 NBL1 North season.[28] In 14 games, he averaged 15.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 2.43 steals per game.[29][30]

Zunic missed the first three weeks of the 2023–24 NBL season due to a foot injury.[31][32]

National team career

In 2015, Zunic helped the Australian under-16 team win gold at the FIBA Oceania Under-16 Championship in New Zealand.[3]

In 2016, Zunic represented Australia at the FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Spain.[2] That same year, he won silver with the Australian under-19 team at the FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship in Fiji.[33] He also competed at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Germany.[34]

In 2019, Zunic helped the Australian University National Team win bronze at the World University Games in Italy.[33] He recorded a team-high four assists in the bronze medal game against Israel.[35]

In February 2022, Zunic was named in the Australian Boomers squad for the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in Japan.[36][37]

Personal life

Zunic is the son of Zoran and Tania Zunic.[2] His father played in the NBL for the Sydney Supersonics (1983) and Sydney Kings (1988).[38] His brother, Jordan, is a professional golfer.[39]

References
  1. "Kyle Luke ZUNIC". fiba.basketball. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
  2. "Kyle Zunic". winthropeagles.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
  3. "Kyle Zunic". fiba.basketball. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
  4. Ward, Courtney (6 September 2021). "Kyle Zunic pens Perth Wildcats deal to follow in father Zoran's NBL footsteps". illawarramercury.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
  5. Ward, Courtney (8 September 2021). "Kyle Zunic zeroes in on making defensive name for himself with Perth Wildcats". southcoastregister.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021.
  6. Ward, Courtney (24 May 2018). "Wide Ward of Sports: Kyle Zunic (Basketball)". southcoastregister.com.au. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  7. "2016 U18 Men Team Lists" (PDF). australia.basketball. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  8. Sicari, Luke (5 May 2016). "Australian U17 Men's FIBA World Championships team finalised". pickandroll.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
  9. "Kyle Zunic". SEABL. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
  10. Barrow, Tim (17 April 2017). "Wollongong's Kyle Zunic looks to launch US college career with Winthrop". illawarramercury.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Zunic last week signed a letter of intent with South Carolina's Winthrop University...
  11. "Kyle Zunic". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
  12. Ward, Courtney (14 March 2018). "Kyle Zunic reflects on first season soaring with Winthrop Eagles". southcoastregister.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. I had those injuries during the year, with my ankles and my appendix but I think it has made me stronger for the years to come.
  13. "Winthrop pours in 14 3-pointers in 88-74 win over UMES". ESPN.com.au. 21 December 2018. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  14. "Big South Announces 2020-21 Men's Basketball Annual Award Winners". bigsouthsports.com. 26 February 2021. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  15. "Winthrop cruises to Big South title, automatic NCAA bid". ESPN.com.au. 8 March 2021. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  16. "From the Big Dance to the Big Pineapple". uscbasketball.com.au. 9 June 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
  17. "Kyle Zunic zeroes in on NBL1 North shot with USC Rip City". southcoastregister.com.au. 10 June 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
  18. "Kyle Zunic". nbl1.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
  19. "Perth Wildcats sign Aussie guard Kyle Zunic". Wildcats.com.au. 6 September 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
  20. "Vic Law makes-history in season-opener". Wildcats.com.au. 3 December 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
  21. "Wildcats vs 36ers". fibalivestats.com. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  22. "Zunic impresses in history-making first NBL games". Wildcats.com.au. 8 December 2021. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021.
  23. "Kyle Zunic". NBL.com.au. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022.
  24. "NBL1 Player Announcement". facebook.com/WarwickSenatorsCCSRA. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  25. "Kyle Zunic". NBL1.com.au. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022.
  26. "Wildcats elevate Kyle Zunic to main roster". Wildcats.com.au. 24 May 2022. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.
  27. "Kyle Zunic". NBL.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023.
  28. "NBL1 North Player Announcement 2023". facebook.com/northsidewizards. 27 January 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  29. "Zunic returning to Perth with more confidence". Wildcats.com.au. 18 July 2023. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023.
  30. "Kyle Zunic". NBL1.com.au. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023.
  31. "Zunic ruled out of Wildcats' opening weekend". Wildcats.com.au. 28 September 2023. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023.
  32. O'Donoghue, Craig (19 October 2023). "Perth Wildcats import Kristian Doolittle to return from knee injury in NBL game against Adelaide 36ers". TheWest.com.au. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023. Wildcats guard Kyle Zunic will also return from a foot injury and play for the first time this season.
  33. "Kyle Zunic". australiabasket.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  34. Arsenis, Damian (21 March 2016). "Young and exciting Emus named for 2016 Albert Schweitzer Tournament". pickandroll.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
  35. "Israel vs Australia" (PDF). 2019 Summer Universiade. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 June 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  36. "Emerging NBL Players Named in Boomers Squad". NBL.com.au. 2 February 2022. Archived from the original on 2 February 2022.
  37. "Zunic to don green and gold in Japan". Wildcats.com.au. 18 February 2022. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022.
  38. "Zoran Zunic". NBL. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
  39. Cohen, Mitch (22 January 2016). "Gong's Zunic brothers shooting for the stars". illawarramercury.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
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