Ante Sustic breaks down his decision
Marshall men’s basketball made an important recruiting move last week, as it announced the official signing of junior college transfer Ante Sustic. Sustic—a 6-foot-10 Croatian power forward—transfers to Marshall from Highland Community College (Freeport, Illinois) and is immediately eligible to participate in Marshall’s 2018-2019 season with two years of eligibility remaining.
“I’m a tall, lanky Croatian dude who loves basketball,” Sustic said. “I’m really funny when you get to know me, even though I look like a giant who wants to kill people. I’m not like that. I’m a nice dude.”
Sustic was born and raised in Split, Croatia, which is 176 miles west of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina—birthplace of former Herd forward Ajdin Penava. As Marshall’s most-recent Eastern European roster addition prepares for his tenure in Huntington, he knows that he’s tasked with replacing the recently-departed Penava. Sustic said he’s ready for the challenge.
“With Penava leaving, I have big shoes to fill and I’ve got a lot of pressure on me,” Sustic said. “I’m ready for every challenge that is in front of me and I want to prove to people that I belong to Marshall.”
Sustic described himself as a “stretch four” power forward, as he can use his mobility to split opposing defenses. Sustic is an accurate shooter. In his 30 games-played at Highland in 2017-2018, Sustic shot 50.5 percent from the field, 50 percent from beyond the arc and 64.3 percent from the line. He only averaged 10.7 minutes per game with 3.9 points and 3.7 rebounds last season. However, his role will likely transform under D’Antoni, as the coaching staff tries to fill Penava’s place. Sustic talked about his style of play and how it fits in with Marshall’s system.
“(I like) the way (Dan) D’Antoni coaches,” Sustic said. “I just like the fast pace of basketball. It fits my style pretty well because I’m a big who can run and spread the floor. I run down the floor with the ball, dunk; get assists. Coach D’Antoni will let me do that. That fits perfectly with the system.”
Sustic began playing basketball at a young age, as he practiced on the streets of Croatia and quickly ascended in his basketball career.
“I started basketball when I was eight and ever since then, I just fell in love with the game,” Sustic said. “I started on the streets and that’s where I maintained my love for the game.”
He transitioned from playing on the streets, to playing for Basketball Club Split, in Croatia. In 2015, Sustic received the opportunity to play in the United States for St. John's Northwestern Military Academy, In Delafield, Wisconsin. Sustic talked about how important the overseas transition was for his career.
“Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to go to the (United) States,” Sustic said. “That’s where the competition is. Back home, you don’t get a lot of love when you’re a talented person. It’s just a different society (than in the States).”
After St. John’s, he considered multiple junior colleges throughout the U.S. and eventually chose Highland, from where he will soon graduate with an associate degree in arts.
Even before his prep school and junior college process, Sustic said Marshall had its eye on him as a perspective recruit. At the age of 17, while still in Croatia and before he went to Highland, Sustic generated recruiting attention from Marshall. However, Sustic said he needed to gain upper-body strength before he came to the Herd.
“Marshall basically recruited me since I was a kid back in Croatia,” Sustic said. “I was really thin and skinny and I needed to put a lot of weight on once I came to the States. I couldn’t come to Marshall right away because I was really skinny. I really needed to work on my upper-body and that’s basically what I did the last two years so I can be ready for the next level.”
Sustic said he’s looking forward to his move to Huntington in order to aid Marshall in its attempt to win a second-straight Conference-USA Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. He said he thinks the Herd will have a solid roster going into this season. With the talent level of Marshall’s current roster, and the arrival of fellow recruits—Taevion Kinsey, Cameron Brooks-Harris and Jeremy Dillion—Sustic thinks there’s a lot of room for success in 2018-2019.
“I look forward to fitting in perfectly with the new system,” Sustic said. “I think we’re going to be a really nice team next season. Hopefully, Jon Elmore comes back and the back court with me and (Jannson Williams), we’re going to have a really good team.”