Toni Rocak

Last updated
Toni Rocak
No. 11KK Cibona
Position Forward
Personal information
Born (1999-04-22) 22 April 1999 (age 25)
NationalitySwiss
Listed height2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)
Career information
College Regis (2018–2020)
UC San Diego (2020–2022)
San Francisco (2022–2023)
Career history
2016–2017 Swiss Central Basket
2023–2024 KK Dubrava
2024–present KK Cibona Zagreb

Toni Rocak (born 22 April 1999) is a Swiss basketball player.

Contents

Personal life

Rocak's family has Croatian roots. Rocak's family move to Switzerland when Toni was three years of age. [1] He and his brother Niko owe their heights to their father Ante, a former European karate champion who became an owner of a fitness company. [2] The family moved from Geneva, Switzerland to Zug for professional reasons. Here the brothers attended the International School of Zug and Luzern (ISZL) where they played basketball for the school team. [2]

The website swisshopes.ch listed Toni as the country's second-best basketball prospect for players born in 1999. [2]

In March 2017, the Swiss newspaper Luzerner Zeitung described Toni Rocak and his brother Niko as being "among the most talented basketball players of their year." [2]

Rocak speaks German, English, French and Croatian. He stated that in addition to athletic development, it is also important to him to achieve something academically. [2]

Early career

In the 2016–17 season, he saw action in six games of the Swiss Basketball League with Swiss Central Basket. [3]

College career

Rocak spent a year at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, [4] before joining NCAA Division II school Regis University in 2018. In 2019–20, he collected All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Honorable Mention status. [5] In 2020, he transferred to NCAA D-I institution UC San Diego. [6] A Business Psychology major, Rocak spent two seasons with the Tritons, averaging 15.1 points and 6.5 rebounds in the 2021–22 campaign. [4] He transferred to the University of San Francisco in 2022. [7] Rocak appeared in 18 games for the Dons during the 2022–23 campaign, scoring 2.3 points per contest. [8]

Professional career

Rocak signed with KK Dubrava of the Croatian HT Premijer liga on 11 August 2023. [9] On 5 September 2024 he inked a deal with KK Cibona Zagreb. [10]

National team

Alongside his brother, he played for Switzerland's U16 and U18 national teams. [2]

He later became a member of the Swiss men's national team. [11]

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References

  1. Mitchell, Greg (2021-08-03). "Out of the box: Toni Rocak continues unique basketball journey at UC San Diego". Mid-Major Madness. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Schriber, Daniel (2017-03-14). "BASKETBALL: Grosse Jungs mit grossen Zielen". Luzerner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  3. "Swiss Central Basket Luzern 2016-2017". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  4. 1 2 "Toni Rocak - 2021-22 - Men's Basketball". UC San Diego. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  5. "Toni Rocak - 2019-20 - Men's Basketball". Regis University Athletics. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  6. "Three Transfers Join Tritons for Debut Division I Campaign". UC San Diego. 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  7. "Men's Basketball Adds Versatile Transfer Toni Rocak". University of San Francisco Athletics. 2022-05-07. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  8. "2022-23 Men's Basketball Cumulative Statistics ('Individual' tab)". University of San Francisco Athletics. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  9. "Toni Ročak – novo pojačanje KK Dubrava". Košarkaški klub Dubrava (in Croatian). 2023-08-11. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  10. "Official: Two extensions and two new faces for Cibona". ABA Liga. 2024-09-05. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  11. Reynolds, Kevin (5 July 2021). "As college athletes benefit from NIL, international counterparts are left out". The San Diego Union-Tribune . Retrieved 15 October 2021.