Overlooked Zuvic Just Wants To Win

Jackson Zuvic was thoroughly decimating Croton's defense with his versatile game. The 6-foot-5 guard/forward buried a deep three-pointer to give Haldane a 19-12 bulge with six minutes remaining in the first half.

The shot was symbolic of the perils Zuvic's underappreciated scoring prowess presents. Knifing through defenders with forays to the basket, pulling shots from beyond the arc, it all seemed like a microcosm of the shivers Zuvic is capable of instantly sending down a team's spine.

A manchild amongst boys, Zuvic seemed to have a hand in on everything during Haldane's exasperating 58-38 blowout loss to Croton. He was handling the ball and distributing the rock. He soaring above traffic for put-backs. It ultimately wasn't enough. Still, Zuvic registered his imprint.


His sublime, 21-point showing was an accurate depiction of a reputable five-tool talent.

Zuvic hasn’t been equated with the same star status as others from Section 1's bigger schools and more traditional basketball breeding grounds.

He was cut from the Empire State Games team last summer, a move that was questionable at best. Playing for Kennedy Catholic coach Frank Kelly's Westchester Hawks on the AAU circuit, Zuvic has added to his all-around game.

He can play anywhere from 2-5 on the floor. With Haldane's deficiencies at the point guard spot, he's even found himself orchestrating the imbalanced offensive symphony for the 2-2 Blue Devils.

The kid gets it.

Zuvic is cognizant of the fact that he plays at a smurf-small school. He realizes Haldane is not as deep as other teams in their conference. He understands the strength of schedule is not the same and there is considerably less star power at the Class C level this year.

In the end, none of that matters to Zuvic.

It's clear through Zuvic's actions and enhaced role as a playmaker that individual accolades are meaningless to the senior.

"I'd rather score 0 and win than score 30 and lose," explained Zuvic, who dropped 30 or more in multiple games last season.

"It's all about winning right now. It's about playing team ball. All I care about is winning. Tonight was a tough one for us. I think we were able to create some problems with our press early on. Foul trouble really hurt us."

Staring down at a 19-12 decifit, Croton thwarted the Blue Devils' power spurt with a Matt Tralli three-pointer.

On the ensuing possession, Zuvic soared in for a tip-in as the Blue Devils busted out the track shoes in transition.

Zuvic's putback swelled the spread to 21-15. The anxiety was evident on the faces of Croton's fans. For one glaring moment, Zuvic stole the show.

Were they really going to let a veritable superman showing cost them a first round flameout in their own tournament?

Were they really going to surrender a buckets-bagging binge? Was Zuvic going let the Section 1 world know he's no longer be flying under the radar?

He was pounding the boards and handling the ball, imposing his workhorse, jack-of-all trades will.

Croton coach Bill Thom pushed his players to respond and overcome the early jitters.

That they did. The Tigers reeled off a 7-0 run to close out the first half.


Ian Thom, who has shouldered the tag of 3-point sniper for the Tigers, drained a deep trey as Croton seized a 25-23 edge at the start of the third. Haldane's Matt Furlow later scored on a transition bucket to knot the game at 25-all.

The Tigers grabbed a 33-30 lead when Jesse Mainero drained a quick-release three-pointer from the
corner.

Croton ramped up their defensive intensity and instigated a timely torrent of turnovers, capitalizing on them and playing an aggressive and physical brand of basketball. They ran roughshod over the Blue Devils, breaking the game open at the end of the third.

Haldane got caught up in foul trouble trying to counter that physicality, with Jackson and Gary Patterson each being saddled with foul trouble.

A bit of frustration was visible on the face of Zuvic, who was mentally drained after Haldane lost their first game of the season.

Zuvic's conversation shifted to the next game against Hastings. He spoke about how the team needs to play an efficient four quarters of basketball and not let mental lapses and letups derail them. He said the team needs to negate Hastings' 6-foot-5 Center Ali Marpet, who scored 24 against Greenburgh on a steady mix of back to the basket moves and mid-range jump shots.

When the subject of prolonging his basketball career was brought up, Zuvic seemed confident he would soon have a hardwood home. A number of potential Division-III suitors, SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Plattsburgh, and Manhattanville, to name a few, have caught the interest of Zuvic. He has spoken with several coaches and would like to ply his trade at the next level.

As of now, however, there are other challenges cooking on Zuvic's front burner.

"We really want to get back to the County Center," explained the All-State selection, who needs under 180 points to reach his 1,000th career point.

"I mean, the goal for all of us is to get that gold ball. That's always going to be the goal. It would be great to end on that note. I'd love a Section 1 championship to go out with and a chance to see where we can go in the state tournament."