Kyle Luke Zunic (born 4 March 1999) is an Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Perth Arena, ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played four seasons of

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

in the United States for the

Winthrop Eagles The Winthrop Eagles are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Winthrop University, located in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Winthrop's 17 men's and women's teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ...

before joining the Wildcats in 2021.

Early life and career

Zunic was born in Sydney,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, in the southern suburb of

Kogarah Kogarah () is a suburb of Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kogarah is located 14 kilometres (9 miles) south-west of the Sydney central business district and is considered to be the centre of the St George, New South ...

. His family later moved to Sanctuary Point, where he attended Sanctuary Point Public School. Around 10 and 11 years old, he played

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

. He started playing basketball in

Shellharbour Shellharbour (also known as Shellharbour Village) is a suburb located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It also gives its name to the local government area, City of Shellharbour, and its central business district, Shellhar ...

before moving to

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wa ...

to play representative basketball for the

Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home game ...

. He played for NSW Country at national tournaments. Zunic moved to Canberra to attend the

Basketball Australia Basketball Australia is the governing and controlling body of basketball in Australia, responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. Basketball Australia sanctions Australia's two professional leagues, the Nation ...

Centre of Excellence and

Lake Ginninderra College University of Canberra Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra, formerly known as Lake Ginninderra College until 2011, is a public secondary college for students in Years 11 and 12. It is located in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia, ...

. He played for the Centre of Excellence in the

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...

(SEABL) in 2016 and 2017. He averaged 8.0 points in his first season and 16.3 points in the second season.

College career

In April 2017, Zunic signed a National Letter of Intent to play

for

Winthrop University Winthrop University is a public university in Rock Hill, South Carolina. It was founded in 1886 by David Bancroft Johnson, who served as the superintendent of Columbia, South Carolina, schools. He received a grant from Robert Charles Winthrop, ...

in the United States. As a freshman for the

in 2017–18, 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. He missed games with injuries to his ankles and appendix issues. As a sophomore in 2018–19, Zunic averaged career highs in points (8.6), rebounds (4.3), assists (1.9) and minutes (21.8). He played 30 games and made 18 starts. On 20 December 2018, he had a career-high 21 points and 10 rebounds against UMES. 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. 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. He became the 24th player in program history to hit 100 career 3-pointers. As a senior in 2020–21, Zunic was again named to the Big South Conference All-Academic Team and helped the Eagles win the Big South Conference tournament for the second year in a row. 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.

College statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", Winthrop , 26 , , 9 , , 18.8 , , .428 , , .372 , , .759 , , 1.3 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .1 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", Winthrop , 30 , , 18 , , 21.8 , , .405 , , .324 , , .667 , , 4.3 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , .2 , , 8.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", Winthrop , 32 , , 7 , , 18.7 , , .393 , , .309 , , .759 , , 3.0 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , .1 , , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;", Winthrop , 25 , , 24 , , 19.6 , , .359 , , .341 , , .609 , , 2.6 , , 1.4 , , .8 , , .1 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 113 , , 58 , , 19.7 , , .399 , , .335 , , .705 , , 2.9 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .1 , , 6.5 , -

Professional career

In June 2021, Zunic joined the USC Rip City of the

NBL1 North NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

. In 12 games, he averaged 12.91 points, 6.33 rebounds, 5.08 assists and 1.16 steals per game. On 6 September 2021, Zunic signed with the

of the National Basketball League (NBL) as a development player for the 2021–22 season. 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 The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

. He became the first development player in NBL history to earn a start in his debut. In 16 games, he averaged 1.7 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. Zunic joined the Warwick Senators for the

2022 NBL1 West season The 2022 NBL1 West season is the second season of the NBL1 West and 33rd overall in State Basketball League (SBL) / NBL1 West history. The regular season began on Friday 8 April and will end on Saturday 13 August. The finals will begin on Friday ...

. In 18 games, he averaged 17.78 points, 4.78 rebounds, 4.28 assists and 1.56 steals per game. On 24 May 2022, Zunic was elevated to the Wildcats' main roster on a two-year deal.

National team career

In 2015, Zunic helped the Australian under-16 team win gold at the

FIBA Oceania Under-16 Championship The FIBA Oceania Under-15 Championship is an under-15 basketball championship in the International Basketball Federation's Oceania zone. Since 2018, the competition previously known as FIBA Oceania Under-16 Championship, which was a qualifier f ...

in New Zealand. In 2016, Zunic represented Australia at the

FIBA Under-17 World Championship The FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup (formerly FIBA Under-17 World Championship) is the under-17 men's world basketball championship organised by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). The event was held for the first time in July 201 ...

in Spain. That same year, he won silver with the Australian under-19 team at the

FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship The FIBA Oceania Under-17 Championship is an under-17 basketball championship in the International Basketball Federation's FIBA Oceania zone. Since 2017, the competition previously known as FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship, which was a quali ...

in Fiji. He also competed at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Germany. In 2019, Zunic helped the Australian University National Team win bronze at the World University Games in Italy. He recorded a team-high four assists in the bronze medal game against Israel. In February 2022, Zunic was named in the Australian Boomers squad for the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in Japan.

Personal life

Zunic is the son of Zoran and Tania Zunic. His father played in the NBL for the Sydney Supersonics (1983) and Sydney Kings (1988). His brother,

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, is a professional golfer.

References

External links

NBL profileNBL1 profileWinthrop Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zunic, Kyle 1999 births Living people Australian men's basketball players Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Medalists at the 2019 Summer Universiade Perth Wildcats players Point guards Shooting guards Sportsmen from New South Wales Winthrop Eagles men's basketball players Universiade bronze medalists for Australia Universiade medalists in basketball