Zunic returning to Perth with more confidence

It was an up and down season for the side, with many a close win and close loss. In the end, the side finished 11th, falling just outside of finals. 

Zunic was a bright spot for the side with 6 out of the side's nine wins coming with him in the side.

Finishing the season with averages of 15.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists, Zunic was strong across the board.

Zunic said that the experience of playing in the NBL1 North competition was amazing.

"It was so high level and every night it was coming up against a great opponent and you had to bring your best every night if you wanted to come out with the win," he said.

"Obviously it wasn't the end to the season that we were hoping for, but it was a lot of fun."

"Super grateful to the Northside Wizards for having me out there and being able to play for such a great organisation."

Defence was a strong point for Zunic this season, who averaged 2.43 steals and had four games with 5+ steals.

"I've always taken pride in being a great defender, and I have always wanted the challenge of defending the best player on the other team," he said.

"For me, it was great to see that I could get my hands active and create some easy possessions for the team, which I want to continue to get better at so I can be a versatile player and contribute this to the upcoming season."

Zunic said during his time with Northside he worked on improving his game, with the support of Perth Wildcats coaches throughout.

"There were a few things I wanted to work on this off-season, I spoke with the coaches from Perth while I was there, and we continuously talked about what I was needing to improve on," he said.

"Specifically, I wanted to continue to develop my shooting, and I believe it got better as the season went on, helping build more confidence in that area of my game now, which is nice to see."

"Also, just my decision-making as a point guard. I was lucky enough to be a part of this Northside team that trusted me to make a lot of decisions and run the offence for us, so I think I definitely took strides in running the point guard role and being able to lead a team night in and night out." 

Zunic said that playing minutes alongside and against NBL talent has helped his preparation for the upcoming NBL season.

"Just being able to go and play minutes at a high level against NBL talent there and be able to make mistakes and learn from them as the season went on," he said.

"Looking back on the NBL1 season, I have a good idea of what I'm doing well right now and also what I need to work on for this preseason as we lead up and get ready for the 23/24 season.

"I'm so excited to get back to Perth and get with the coaches and start working hard on my game so I can be as ready as possible when we play that first game."

Reflecting on the season that was, Zunic said a highlight was Northsides' win over the Cairns Marlins in round 15. 

"It was coming to the back end of the season, and we needed a win to stay alive and give ourselves a chance of making playoffs," he said.

"We were down a lot of the time and seemed like at one point in the fourth it may have been out of reach, but the team just continued to fight and continued to play hard, and ultimately we won the game by 2 points."

"It was just such a great hard-fought win that you walk out of it feeling proud of being a part of it. Definitely a good one to remember."