NBA Draft: Will Michael Ruzic Be a Part of Badalona’s Plans This Season?

After proving himself worthy of a rotation spot at only 17 years old last season, Michael Ruzic could get a lot of opportunities with Joventut Badalona this season.

Aug 8, 2012; London, United Kingdom; A general view of a FIBA basketball during the men's quarterfinal between Spain and France in the 2012 London Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Badalona lost some talent this season both at the senior level in key players like Dominican guard Andres Feliz and from their highly-regarded youth talent pool with players like Karim Lopez leaving for the NBL and Ruben Prey leaving for St. John’s. A notable 2025 NBA Draft prospect has stayed though, and he’s poised to take on a potentially large role for an 18-year-old in EuroCup and Liga ACB competition. 

Croatian forward Michael Ruzic stands at 6-foot-10, has a 7-foot wingspan, and weighs about 220 pounds. He will still be 17 for a few weeks when the 2024-25 ACB season gets underway in Spain, but that’s unlikely to keep him off the court in any way. Last season, Ruzic appeared in 26 ACB games and made 13 starts. He averaged 4.9 points and three rebounds per game and offered true value as a stretch four connecting on 37 percent of his 3-point attempts. Ruzic joined the senior team in November and it was only up for him from there. 

Ruzic’s current skillset is fairly malleable. Stretch bigs who are happy to set screens and provide value on the glass aren’t easy to come by. In Ruzic, Badalona has one. He will fit nicely next to either of their towering centers - Ante Tomic and Artem Pustovyi - next season. Both these bigs like to catch the ball high and survey for quick layups, or teammates who they can hit with a quick pass on a cut or catch and shoot three. 

While Ruzic is skilled - a confident shooter, a good cutter, and capable of putting the ball on the floor in quick attacks himself - he isn’t afraid of the dirty work aspects of the game. Badalona, like many Spanish teams, relies heavily on their guards to create out of pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop offense, or dribble handoffs and Ruzic is happy to set as many screens necessary to help his teammates get downhill and create an advantage. Opposing defenses will dread having to guard any one of Guillem Vives, Pau Ribas, Yannick Kraag, or any one of Badalona’s primary ballhandlers as they’ll be well aware it will require running through multiple screens from the like of Tomic, Pustovyi, Ruzic, and others. 

A key difference maker in just how much Badalona will be able to trust Ruzic this season will be on the defensive end. With his size, Ruzic has spent a lot of his youth-level play guarding opposing centers. But at the senior level, that responsibility goes to the tested sturdy bodies of Tomic and Pustovyi. Ruzic will be on opposing forwards, who tend to drift out more to the perimeter, and that’s not an area where he looked comfortable last season. He gave too much space to opponents, letting them easily get jumpers off over him. Or as he inched closer, he got blown by and conceded layups with ease. 

Ruzic showed he was already capable of playing a consistent role in ACB and EuroCup competition last season, and could easily take that to another level for the 2024-25 season. Improvement on the defensive end could go a long way toward making him a fringe starter-level player, which is not an area many reach at this age. A world of opportunities would await him at the end of the season such as entering the NBA Draft already, impressive overseas deals, and likely very lucrative NIL offers. Ruzic controls his future, and it currently looks bright for him and Badalona.

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