He is part of the next wave of Boomers talent and projected to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, with a towering 7-foot-3 frame and even loftier expectations.
At just 18 years old, Rocco Zikarsky is already on a rapid rise to stardom. But sometimes, he still gets the chance to take it all in.
To stop and reflect on how far he has come and how far he can still go. He doesn’t have to look too far either.
Watch every game of the first ever NBL Hoopsfest LIVE on ESPN, via Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today >
In fact, last pre-season, he only had to look at the man he was sharing a court with during his first training session in Brisbane after signing on as part of the NBL’s Next Stars program.
“I was definitely a little star struck,” Zikarsky told foxsports.com.au, reflecting on the first time he met now former Bullets and Boomers big man Aron Baynes.
“It was just me and him working out that day with one of our coaches and I was sort of shocked because it was someone I watched on TV growing up and someone I idolised and then they rock up in sandals and they’re just a normal guy. It’s crazy.”
This was the same Aron Baynes who Zikarsky, still only a few years into high school at the time, remembers dropping 37 points for Phoenix in a win over Portland, breaking the record for the most points ever by an Australian in a single NBA game.
“I watched him in the Olympics and whatnot but what really stood out to me was that moment,” Zikarsky said, recalling that day he walked out of class in 2020 and whipped out his phone to check the latest scores in the NBA.
“Because it was just at the time I was really getting into basketball and then I was like, ‘Oh my God, an Australian big man has just done that. It’s unheard of’.”
Of course, Baynes isn’t the only one.
There was Bogut, Bradtke and Longley while, even if not viewed in that regard yet, Jock Landale is also starting to really make a name for himself on the international stage.
But in carving his “Mount Rushmore of Australian NBA big men”, Zikarsky said Baynes would “arguably” have a place alongside some of those other legendary names.
Which makes the fact his name is commonly brought up in discussions of who can be Australia’s next marquee big man all the more special.
Zikarsky, while obviously not looking too far into the future, already has his eyes on the 2028 and 2032 Olympics. “Epsecially with 2032 being a home Olympics,” Zikarsky said.
“That’s one I really want to be sort of cemented as a Boomers core player (for).”
The 18-year-old already took a step towards doing just that when he was named in Australia’s initial 22-man squad ahead of this year’s Games
Front of mind for Zikarsky, however, is making the most of his second year in the NBL and specifically the chance for increased playing time following Bayne’s exit from the Bullets.
Last season, Zikarsky likened it to a “no-pressure role”, where he saw limited playing time off the bench and just got to “play basketball and show off what I can do”.
But with more opportunities comes more responsibility and for Zikarsky those training sessions spent copping an elbow to the chest, “all the tough love” as he described it, were worth it.
“There was nothing he wanted to see more last season than to see me succeed so it was awesome to have that support and backing from someone who has been in a spot I wanted to be in for so long,” Zikarsky said.
“We had a lot of conversations throughout the year on just sticking to what I know that I’m really good at. He always told me that there’s not many other people in the world that can do some things that I can do.”
And while it may not seem that significant, the reality was at times they were the exact words Zikarsky needed to hear.
HOW ROCCO’S HEIGHT HAS BEEN A BLESSING… AND AT TIMES A CURSE
Zikarsky isn’t just tall. He’s 7-foot-3, so tall that he now lives in a shipping container.
It turns out he was outgrowing the family home, literally, hitting his head on a low-lying beam at one point when running down the stairs.
That prompted his mother Kylie to buy land in the Sunshine Coast hinterland along with containers for herself and all four of her children.
Zikarsky’s size has always made him stand out, with NBA Global Academy director Marty Clarke telling foxsports.com.au it was the “obvious” first thing he noticed when Zikarsky was identified at around 12 or 13 years old.
“But you’ve got to look past that,” he added.
Some people aren’t able to do that though.
“The height certainly is advantageous (but) it can work against you,” said Clarke.
“He copped a lot of abuse on social media because he was tall. It’s an advantage in one way but it can become a very negative thing in a lot of ways where people just pick something out that you have no control over.
“He had to learn how to deal with that at a very young age and very unfairly… but you can’t just be tall, you have to have other parts to your game.”
Such as?
“The thing I look for is how people move and Rocco was a very good straight-line runner,” Clarke said.
“He moved very easily. I wouldn’t say he moved super quick and it wasn’t about the speed, he’s got coordination and he knows what he’s trying to do running wise.
“At 15 and 7-foot whatever he was at the time, you don’t expect them to be strong or quick or powerful but he was a very smooth mover and had an ability to stop and start. They were the first things that jumped out.”
Then, Clarke noticed more. How Zikarsky could catch a ball on the run and stop, and then make a decision. Then he added a jump shot. A hook shot. The ability to move with his feet sideways.
It all came together at the Tarkanian Classic in 2022, where Zikarsky was a standout despite being two years younger than the other players in his age group.
“I thought he handled people of his size better in that game than I’ve seen before,” Clarke said.
“It’s OK to dominate smaller people but can you do it against people that are like you? He did that in that game. That was a big psychological hurdle for him to jump… I think that was a big turning point for him.”
And the best part of it all?
“He’s still really young,” Clarke said.
“He won’t be at his peak for another six, seven years and that’s the exciting piece. He’s got a lot more development in him.”
For Zikarsky, that developmental piece has been more mental than anything else and a lot of that comes back to those unfair questions Clarke mentioned earlier.
There would be games where he would play poorly and then thoughts would “start creeping” into his head.
“Like, ‘Maybe it is just the height’, but I think I’ve come a really long way with that,” Zikarsky said.
He has also come a long way with controlling his emotions on the court, being the first to admit that he would often lose his temper.
Even if he didn’t say as much, Zikarsky added that Bullets coach Justin Schueller, who was head coach at the 2022 FIBA under-17 World Cup, would “attest” to it as well.
“I was a little fiery at that tournament,” Zikarsky said.
“I think that is the biggest part of my growth mentally.”
Zikarsky credited that competitive nature to growing up as the youngest of four, where he always wanted to beat his older siblings.
“At whatever it was,” the 18-year-old added, whether it was “winning backyard basketball” or even “eating the most food at the dinner table”.
It may also have to do with the fact Zikarsky comes from a family of elite swimmers, winning the 50m freestyle at the National School Swimming Championships when he was just 14 years old.
As it turned out, Clarke and the Global Academy happened to call him on the very same day.
“Coming from an individual sport like swimming, I just wanted to win,” Zikarsky said.
“I think that’s where the fieriness comes from but I also think I’ve learned how to tone it down a little bit and turn it into this passion instead of anger for the game.
“I had this mode in my head where not every day is going to be perfect and your mood and your daily way you go about (things) shouldn’t be determined by whether you had a bad day at practice or a great day at practice.
“As long as you go at it at practice knowing you made yourself a little better, I think that’s the main thing I took away from being at CoE (Centre of Excellence).”
But as much as Zikarsky may remember that under-17 World Cup as the tournament where he at times let his emotions get the better of him, he also remembers it for something else.
He can still recall the moment he looked up for his mother Kylie halfway through a game, only to find she was surrounded by “eight or nine” coaches.
“Talking to her about college and all these things,” Zikarsky said.
“(I was like), ‘My God’, I did not know it was like that at all.”
That, it turned out, was only the start for Zikarsky, who said he had coaches texting him every few days wanting to get on the phone to talk about his future.
The Global Academy helped keep some of the noise quiet, so as to not make sure the teenage Zikarsky’s phone wasn’t blowing up every minute of the day.
“That did help out in some ways,” he said.
But as much as blocking out the noise helped, just knowing it was there was enough for Zikarsky. It was “exciting for 15 or 16-year-old me”, as the now 18-year-old put it.
Exciting because any time the self-doubt creeps back in, Zikarsky is still able to think back to that moment, that tournament and those coaches who believed in him.
“Everything is going to work out in due time, you just have to stay at it,” Zikarsky said.
“If it’s a bad day, if it’s a good day, keep waking up, keep doing it and the dominoes will fall eventually.”
THE BIG OPPORTUNITY AWAITING ZIKARSKY AT THE BULLETS
That has been the mindset for Zikarsky since signing with the Bullets at just 16 years old as the youngest Next Star in the program.
Sure, expectations are sky-high but Zikarsky has no problems staying grounded, especially given his familiarity with both Schueller and assistant coach Greg Vanderjagt.
“It’s a great situation to be in,” Zikarsky said.
“It is part of the reason why I signed with Brisbane as part of the Next Stars. I loved Justin’s coaching style in under-17s and under-16s Asia Cup and World Cup. I liked how he operated. “I had that trust level with him and Greg Vanderjagt. Spending a month and a half with them travelling the world and playing basketball, you learn a lot about them and trust them and I think that makes my situation, moving into my first professional team having those pre-existing connections to a head coach and assistant coach, it’s really helpful.”
But as much as Zikarsky benefited from spending last season learning from Baynes, the veteran big man’s departure has opened the door for the 18-year-old to break out for the Bullets before turning his attention towards the NBA.
“The more minutes I’m able to be out there and experience and be exposed to a bunch of high-level and different athletes from all around the world, it’s going to be really beneficial in the long run,” Zikarsky added.
“But with that being said, I don’t think playing more minutes comes with more pressure. At the end of the day, I want to help the team win and I’m going to do that in any way I can. “It’s just basketball. I’m going to play. I’m going to have great games. I’m going to have bad games. At the end of the day, it’s just staying consistent and riding the waves.”
The 2024-25 NBL season begins in Perth with the inaugural HoopsFest from September 19 to 22. You can watch every game of the first ever NBL Hoopsfest LIVE on ESPN, via Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today >
Source Agencies
