LSU Athletics
By Hunt Palmer
It’s easier to forecast 23-year-olds.
As excited as I am to see what Michael Ruzic becomes, I’m not as confident in myself to predict it. A lot of the players Will Wade has brought in have already matured into what they’re going to be. That’s not the case with Ruzic.
He might be the starting four. He might be a developmental piece to the program. Unquestionably, he’s got serious talent.
WHAT WE KNOW
Ruzic is huge. He’s also young.
The Croatian is 6-foot-10 and 19 years old. He’s got three years of pro basketball under his belt. That’s not new to this signing class. He’s played 90 professional games in the Spanish League.
He’s got real skills.
Ruzik has shot 53 percent from the floor, 38 percent from deep and 63 percent from two-point range. The latter is clearly where Ruzic is going to make his living. He’s consistently a 60 to 63 percent two-point shooter in his early career. A lot of that is around the basket.
It’s a small sample size, but Ruzic made some threes last year. He was 11-for-29 from deep which is 39 percent. That is projectable, but his free throw percentage was underwhelming at 64 percent.
He averaged a little under four rebounds per game last year and blocked 18 shots.
THE FIT
Ruzic is on NBA radars. He’s just not a finished product.
LSU has a couple of mature bigs on the roster. Brice Dessert is a 7-footer and is a physical presence. Marcio Santos is 23-years-old and can pick and pop. That should allow Ruzic to develop as his own pace which makes him a great fit.
Ruzic has a gorgeous shooting stroke and some ability to put the ball on the floor to attack. I think he profiles as a stretch big with some defensive limitations.
He’s not as quick as he is rangy. That allows him to drive a little bit, but that’s not a huge part of his game.
HUNT’S PROJECTION
I really could see Ruzic as an All-SEC player or a 10-minute per game player. That’s casting a wide net, but he’s 19 instead of 23. This feels like high school recruiting instead of professional free agency.
Ruzic’s skills are not in question. The NBA is looking at him hard for a reason. I’m going to skew to the conservative side in year one in America. I think Ruzic is a rotational piece that goes for 18 points once or twice but averages about seven. He’ll knock down some threes and finish high around the rim.
My biggest curiosity is with Ruzic’s ability to defend. You don’t see a lot of it on his highlights, but a 7-footer needs to be able to block and alter shots. Ruzic seems the be more offensively focused.
Dessert and Santos will be the primary post defenders at this point. Ruzic needs to help a little bit. This team is going to create a ton of space with its shooting, and Ruzic figures to be a part of that.
If Ruzic is good enough to go from LSU to the NBA after a year, he’ll have had a monster year. If he doesn’t, he’s the most likely of LSU’s additions to play a second year with the program.
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