How has Zvonimir Ivisic been at Arkansas? Checking in with Big Z before Rupp Arena return.

Of all the former Kentucky men’s basketball players and recruits who opted to follow John Calipari to Arkansas last offseason, none occupied as distinct a place in UK basketball lore as Zvonimir Ivisic.

The man often referred to by Wildcats fans as “Big Z” was a 7-foot-2 walking storyline for Kentucky during the 2023-24 season.

A quick recap: Ivisic, who is from Croatia, was a late addition to Kentucky’s top-ranked 2023 recruiting class, which was Calipari’s final UK recruiting group.

Ivisic had previous high-level playing experience from his time at SC Derby, a Montenegrin basketball club, but Ivisic had a delayed arrival to the UK campus. He then sat out games while an NCAA investigation into his amateur status took place.

Eventually, Ivisic made his college basketball debut for the Wildcats a little more than a year ago, wowing a boisterous Rupp Arena crowd with 13 points in just 16 minutes in a Jan. 20 home win over Georgia. You may recall Big Z’s stylish behind-the-back pass to Antonio Reeves for an open 3-pointer during that game.

While Ivisic went on to score 18 points during a home win over Alabama later in the season, he lacked the game-to-game consistency required to make an impact for Calipari’s final UK squad, which lost both of its postseason contests in the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.

All told, Ivisic played in only 15 games at UK, with per-game averages of 5.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots in 11.7 minutes. Ivisic shot 57.7% from the field and 37.5% from 3-point range.

Ivisic didn’t stick around for a second season in Lexington. Just one day before Kentucky formally introduced Mark Pope as the program’s next head coach, Ivisic entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal. Ivisic and Pope met with each other before the Croatian elected to transfer.

Ivisic then became the first former UK player to follow Calipari to Arkansas when he committed to the Razorbacks.

That’s a tidy summation of what the Big Z saga was for Kentucky. But what’s happened with Ivisic since that offseason move to Fayetteville?

How has Zvonimir Ivisic performed for Arkansas this season?

Availability hasn’t been a concern for Ivisic this season at Arkansas, which brings a 12-8 overall record and a 1-6 mark in SEC games to Saturday night’s marquee matchup with UK.

Ivisic has played in 19 of the Razorbacks’ 20 games, starting six of those contests. Ivisic has per-game averages of 7.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 17 minutes. These statistics are all improvements over what Ivisic averaged during his 15-game run at UK.

Ivisic also has improved as a 3-point shooter this season, making 40.6% of his attempts from deep on significantly increased shot volume. Ivisic is shooting worse from the field overall this season compared to his time at Kentucky, though: The Croatian is making 47.7% of his attempts overall, which is a 10% drop from last season, although Ivisic is taking more attempts each game.

Ivisic — who recorded his first college double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in a Jan. 18 road loss at Missouri — has had a number of high-scoring games this season. He’s scored in double figures in nine games, led by a career-high 19 points in a win over Troy on Nov. 13. Of the nine games in which Ivisic has scored 10 or more points this season, seven of those contests came against nonconference opponents.

“I think he’s a terrific talent,” Pope said Thursday afternoon about Ivisic. “... I think he’s incredibly talented. I think his skillset is really unique for his size. I think he’s got a moxie about him that’s pretty fun, and he poses problems. He’s a top-10 rim protector in the country, which is incredible. He’s shooting 40% from the 3-point line. He can go to work in the post. He can really pass the ball. He’s a terrific player and he’s a big challenge for us as we prepare for this game.”

Ivisic’s numbers have been muted in SEC play, during which the Hogs have struggled mightily. Ivisic is averaging 4.9 points and 3.9 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game against conference foes. Ivisic’s usage has skyrocketed in recent weeks though, with the Croatian playing at least 21 minutes in each of Arkansas’ last three games at Missouri and at home against Georgia and Oklahoma.

It’s clear that there is still an appetite when it comes to Ivisic’s NBA potential.

On ESPN’s most recent 2025 NBA draft Big Board this month, Ivisic was ranked as the No. 55 overall player in the potential 2025 draft class, which would slot him in late-second round pick territory.

Ivisic’s twin brother, Tomislav, is having a breakout season at Illinois: 13 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. Tomislav is listed as the No. 50 overall player on ESPN’s big board for the 2025 draft, five spots ahead of Zvonimir.

How have other former UK players, recruits been at Arkansas?

Of course, Ivisic is far from the only former UK basketball player or recruit who is now in Fayetteville playing for Calipari and the Hogs.

Here’s a quick look at how those other ex-Cats have fared this season.

Players are listed in alphabetical order.

▪ Boogie Fland (freshman guard): 15.1 points, 5.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds in 34.1 minutes per game.

Fland — a 2024 McDonald’s All-American — was a breakout star for the Razorbacks this season before a hand injury appeared to end his season. This month, Fland underwent surgery in New York City to repair an injury to his right thumb.

Prior to this procedure, Fland had started all 18 of Arkansas’ games. He was shooting 39.1% from the field, 36.5% from 3-point range and 83.9% from the free-throw line.

Fland was second on Arkansas in scoring and steals. He was Arkansas’ runaway assists leader and was second on the team in minutes per game. He was set to be the second-highest rated recruit in Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class under Calipari.

On ESPN’s most recent 2025 NBA draft big board, Fland was projected to be an early-second round draft pick. That big board came out prior to Fland’s surgery.

▪ Karter Knox (freshman forward): 6.7 points and 3 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game.

Knox — who is the younger brother of ex-Cat Kevin Knox, a former one-and-done star with the Cats under Calipari — was the final player to commit to UK and Calipari as part of the 2024 recruiting class that eventually disintegrated.

Knox committed to the Cats on March 9, 2024, just hours after Calipari’s final victory at UK, a road win at Tennessee to close the 2023-24 regular season.

A 2024 McDonald’s All-American out of the Overtime Elite program in Atlanta, Knox’s decision to follow Calipari to Fayetteville was also influenced by former Louisville head coach Kenny Payne, who is now an associate head coach at Arkansas. Payne was UK’s associate head coach under Calipari when Kevin Knox was in school, and the Knox family has a close relationship with Payne.

Knox has played in all 20 of Arkansas’ games this season, with eight starts. His season high of 21 points came in a late November nonconference win over Maryland Eastern Shore. Knox scored 13 points — including 11 made foul shots — and grabbed six rebounds in Arkansas’ lone SEC win of the season over Georgia on Jan. 22.

Knox has played at least 20 minutes in each of Arkansas’ last three games.

▪ Billy Richmond III (freshman forward): 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game.

Richmond — whose father played for Calipari at Memphis — was the final player from the 2024 Kentucky basketball recruiting class assembled by Calipari to decommit from UK.

Richmond waited nearly a week after Calipari stepped down and several days after UK introduced Pope to publicly decommit from the Wildcats.

A former high school teammate of ex-Cats Aaron Bradshaw and D.J. Wagner at Camden (New Jersey) High School, Richmond has come off the bench for the Razorbacks in all 20 of their games this season. Richmond has only hit double-digit scoring for Arkansas on three occasions, all during nonconference play against Maryland Eastern Shore, Illinois and North Carolina A&T.

He’s yet to score more than four points in an SEC game.

▪ Adou Thiero (junior forward): 16.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.8 steals in 28.5 minutes per game.

Thiero’s third year of college basketball has seen him blossom into the kind of all-around star that he showed the potential of becoming during his freshman and sophomore seasons at Kentucky. He leads the Razorbacks in rebounding, scoring and steals.

A former three-star recruit in the 2022 high school class, Thiero can be touted as a player development victory for Calipari. Thiero played only seven minutes in his final UK game, last year’s first round NCAA Tournament loss to Oakland.

Thiero had an interesting path to reuniting with his former coach at Arkansas. Thiero was the first former UK basketball player to enter the NCAA transfer portal last offseason, and he did so while Calipari was still the coach in Lexington.

But despite that decision, Thiero found his way back to Calipari when he committed to the Hogs out of the transfer portal from a final group of schools that also included Indiana, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and a return to UK.

Thiero’s father, Almamy, played for Calipari at Memphis.

▪ D.J. Wagner (sophomore guard): 10.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 34.4 minutes per game.

Wagner has been a consistent, healthy presence for the Razorbacks this season, having started all 20 of Arkansas’ contests.

Most of Wagner’s statistical totals are in line with what he did last season at UK, where he spent much of his freshman campaign battling, and playing through, an ankle injury.

Wagner’s scoring is slightly up (10.2 points per game compared to 9.9 last season). His rebounding has seen a positive jump (3.2 rebounds per game compared to 1.9). His assists have dipped slightly (2.8 compared to 3.3). Wagner’s shooting has improved (41.4% from the field compared to 40.5% last season, and 32.9% from 3-point range compared to 29.2%).

But the big change has come in playing time. Wagner averaged 25.8 minutes per game for the Wildcats last season. He’s at 34.4 minutes this season, which leads all Razorbacks.

Wagner was the most celebrated member of the 2023 UK recruiting class, having spent much of his high school career as the top-ranked player in that recruiting group.

Calipari also coached Wagner’s father, Dajuan, at Memphis. Wagner’s grandfather is former Louisville star Milt Wagner.

This story was originally published January 29, 2025 at 1:30 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