At just 17 years of age, 7’3 Brisbane Bullets star Rocco Zikarsky has quickly adapted to life in the professional lane.

Zikarksy impressed at the NBL Blitz on the Gold Coast, with 11 points and explosive defence in their pre-season opener, in front of more than 40 NBA scouts. He battled an ankle injury during the rest of the pre-season but will play in Friday's season opener.

Brisbane coach Justin Schueller says the club will do everything they can to ensure the NBL Next Star reaches the NBA.

“We know, for his journey and us being a part of his NBA journey, is really special and we’re certain we’ll get him to where he needs to go,” Schueller said on SEN.

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Whilst completing his Year 11 exams, Zikarsky was on the court after hours putting in the work in preparation for his first professional season.

Schueller had the pleasure of coaching Zikarsky at the FIBA U17 World Cup, and with a formed relationship already, the process of growing the young talent excites the coach.

“It’s an exciting time for us to see someone so young that we know we’ll have for two years in our journey so that’s the other beauty, is there’s no rush in his development. We can bring him along at the right rate, and I think he’ll be an absolute part of our success moving forward,” Schueller said.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Only Rocco could catch that pass ?<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/BrisbaneBullets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BrisbaneBullets</a> lead <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@illawarrahawks</a>, 31-23 in the second quarter.<br><br>Watch every game live &amp; free via Kayo Freebies ?<br><br>Outside Australia? Watch via ?? <a href="https://t.co/8LoWsbR7E4">https://t.co/8LoWsbR7E4</a> <a href="https://t.co/y0mbxcNyIA">pic.twitter.com/y0mbxcNyIA</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1704374802314568175?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Assistant coach Greg Vanderjagt echoed Schueller’s comments, and further explained the Bullets’ centre as a “seasoned pro” already.

“He’s like a seasoned pro, and he has relationships with everybody on the team and he can hold court with the whole team,” Vanderjagt said on Basketball Queensland’s No Offense podcast.

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“Everybody’s invested in him, everybody wants him to be successful, and that’s the most exciting part because he’s such a good kid.”

Vanderjagt also acknowledged the 17-year-old’s maturity.

“You can already see his body changing, his shoulders are getting bigger, he’s starting to get a chest and he’s starting to get a better core strength so he can hold his space," Vanderjagt said.

“The thing that’s impressed me about Rocco coming into our environment is his maturity, and how seamlessly he has integrated himself into a professional environment.”

Zikarksy and the Bullets host the Adelaide 36ers on Friday, September 29, at 7:30pm AEST. Watch the game live on ESPN and Kayo Sports.