Freshman Zvonimir Ivisic not with team as Kentucky basketball returns from holiday break

Following a short holiday break, the Kentucky men’s basketball team returned to the hardwood Friday night with a win over Illinois State.

But the Wildcats played their final pre-conference game without freshman center Zvonimir Ivisic with the team. (Sophomore Adou Thiero was also out for Kentucky for Friday’s game against Illinois State with general soreness, according to UK. Thiero is considered day-to-day with his injury.)

Ivisic — the 7-foot-2 recruit from Croatia who has been known as “Big Z” before he even arrived on UK’s campus — is still waiting on a ruling from the NCAA concerning his college eligibility.

Ivisic went home to Croatia for the holidays, and he remained at home in Europe while the Wildcats defeated the Redbirds, 96-70.

“Zvonimir Ivisic will not be with the team for tonight’s game vs. Illinois State. Ivisic has been given extra time at home in Croatia following the holiday break and is expected back next week,” a pregame social media post from the UK men’s basketball program said.

Following UK’s rivalry win at Louisville on Dec. 21, UK head coach John Calipari said Ivisic was permitted to go home to Croatia for the holidays.

“For his sake, I said, ‘I’m good with it.’ So he’s going to go home and be back before the Illinois State game,” Calipari said. “Hopefully we hear something.”

Calipari added that Ivisic has had trouble sleeping and eating since arriving in the United States two months ago and said he had dropped from 242 to 219 pounds over that time, which included at least two major illnesses that kept him away from home games and sidelined him from practices.

“For him, the best thing — for him, not for me; I’d rather him be with me, stay with me — he needs to get home,” Calipari said. “He needs to be around his family. But he’s done good stuff.”

Obviously, Ivisic didn’t return to Lexington ahead of the Illinois State game.

The day before the UK-U of L contest, Ivisic took to social media to explain that he’d spoke to Calipari about his future with the program amid his ongoing eligibility process with the NCAA.

“I met with Coach Cal and discussed going home for the holidays,” Ivisic said in a social media post. “My family and I worked really hard to gain admission to Kentucky, which took quite a while. With the ups and downs of this process, it’s been a stressful and emotional time for me and my family, but I can tell all of BBN that I’ve done everything I can.

“I’ve obtained a 3.25 GPA. I love this school. I love my teammates and going against other great players every day in practice. I love being coached and challenged and I’m hoping to hear that I can play soon. Go BBN!!”

Zvonimir Ivisic committed to UK in August, but is still yet to play

Ivisic committed to Kentucky on Aug. 1, but his arrival in Lexington was delayed by the university’s admissions process, which Calipari acknowledged following UK’s win at Louisville.

Ivisic was finally cleared as a UK student in early October and first stepped foot on campus Oct. 12, the day before Big Blue Madness. While he enrolled in time to take “part-of-term” courses — an academic path that would have allowed him to be eligible to play during the fall semester — his college basketball debut has been held up by the NCAA’s eligibility process.

Since Ivisic played for a professional team in Europe, his past there — and any potential compensation received while competing — has been scrutinized. So far, the NCAA has not issued a ruling on his playing status, and UK had not offered any recent official comment on the process until Calipari spoke on it after the Louisville game.

Calipari didn’t discuss Ivisic following Friday’s win over Illinois State.

The 20-year-old Ivisic has been practicing with the Wildcats after receiving a waiver from the NCAA to do so, but he has not been permitted to appear in any of Kentucky’s games.

Adou Thiero also out for Kentucky against Illinois State

Thiero — a second-year player for the Wildcats who has had some starring moments already this season — was held out of the Illinois State game due to soreness.

On UK’s pregame radio show Friday night, Calipari said Thiero has been experiencing pain in his back.

This is the second game that Thiero has missed this season: Thiero also missed UK’s second game of the season against Texas A&M-Commerce while in concussion protocol.

Thiero is averaging 7.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season. His statistics have been punctuated by a 16-point, 13-rebound effort against then-No. 1 Kansas in the Champions Classic and a four-block outing against then-No. 9 North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic.

“I just think he’s so talented,” Calipari said of Thiero during a recent edition of the UK coach’s weekly radio show. “He’s got a quick twitch, getting in better shape. ... I told his dad, he hasn’t even touched how good he could be. So, really proud of him.”

This story was originally published December 29, 2023 at 6:29 PM.

Cameron Drummond

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-242-5257

Cameron Drummond works as a sports reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader with a focus on Kentucky men’s basketball recruiting and the UK men’s basketball team, horse racing, soccer and other sports in Central Kentucky. Drummond is a second-generation American who was born and raised in Texas, before graduating from Indiana University. He is a fluent Spanish speaker who previously worked as a community news reporter in Austin, Texas. Support my work with a digital subscription