Damian Zivak makes sure he evaluates his play regularly. If he’s not satisfied with how he’s playing, the Barrington junior will take note and then aim to correct his errors.
On Dec. 13, Zivak didn’t like how he contributed in the Broncos’ 59-49 loss to Palatine. He had a week to think about how he would respond before Barrington played Conant on Dec. 20.
“I felt like I had way too many turnovers (against Palatine),” Zivak said. “At practice, we went hard and needed to bounce back.”
That’s just what Zivak did. The 6-foot-5 guard finished with a team-high 23 points as Barrington easily defeated Conant 60-37.
Zivak showed off the all-court game that has made him the feature player in the Broncos’ offense.
“It definitely helps when (Zivak) gets going early. It helps the rest of the team have a lot of energy,” senior guard Aaron Sarkar said. “He’s our best scorer on the team.”
There were clues near the end of last season that Zivak could be a breakout player this season. Barrington won five of its last seven games last season. During that stretch, the Broncos began to run more sets for Zivak.
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“His role grew at the end of last season,” Barrington coach Bryan Tucker said. “He was getting more minutes, and we were running more stuff for him at the offense end. We saw this coming.”
Zivak attacked the spring and summer AAU season with plans to improve all aspects of his game. He traveled all over the Midwest with BIG3 Basketball out of Schaumburg.
Playing in tournaments in Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin, Zivak competed on the same floor as elite recruits such as Max Christie of Rolling Meadows and Duke commit Jalen Johnson from Milwaukee. Zivak studied as much as he participated.
“When you watch them and how they play with their aggressive style, most are athletic freaks,” Zivak said. “It’s mostly a skill-based game, a lot of perimeter ballhanding and getting to the rim, creating for their teammates.”
Zivak is trying to bring that style of play — the dominant ballhandling he saw from Christie and Johnson on the AAU circuit — to the Broncos this season.
He’s been honing his craft for years. His father, Zeljko Zivak, is from Serbia and played basketball in high school. His older sister, Tamara Zivak, played in the Barrington girls basketball program.
“They pushed me every day to play since I was 5 years old,” Damian Zivak said. “It’s an everyday kind of thing for us: School, basketball and do it again.”
Zivak has visited Serbia and attended basketball camps. He follows Serbian players in the NBA such as Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, who is partly of Serbian decent.
When Zivak shakes a defender off the dribble or knocks down a 3-point shot, he tries to channel Jokic or Doncic. Drawing from many influences, combined with his size and athleticism, is what makes Zivak one of the Mid-Suburban League’s best juniors.
“He’s been doing great this year,” Sarkar said. “He looks for his shots, and when he’s our number one option, it opens up things for everyone else on the floor.”
Jon J. Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press