At long last, Zvonimir Ivišić has arrived in Lexington.
The final addition to the Kentucky men’s basketball team for the 2023-24 season, Ivišić’s arrival in the commonwealth was announced in a social media post by UK head coach John Calipari late Thursday morning.
“Big Z and Lil Cal! Finally!!!” read a message posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, by Calipari.
A video released on social media by the UK men’s basketball team account also showed Ivišić’s arrival in Lexington.
With Ivišić now officially on the Kentucky campus, it brings at least a partial end to a long-running UK basketball saga.
In early August, Ivišić announced his commitment to the Wildcats. A 7-foot-2, 220-pound forward, Ivišić is from Croatia and previously played for Studentski Centar Podgorica — a team based in Montenegro that is also known as SC Derby — for the last two seasons.
But neither a smooth, nor timely, progression from UK commit to enrolled UK student followed for Ivišić.
He was originally expected to be in Lexington by late August, but his admission process moved slowly.
In early September, the university released a statement related to Ivišić’s status following reports from UK fan sites that his admission into UK was being held up only by the school’s admissions office.
Eventually, Ivišić moved through the process and UK spokesperson Jay Blanton told the Herald-Leader on Oct. 4 that Ivišić had been admitted to the university as a student.
Following these developments, Calipari posted a lengthy message on X detailing his excitement that Ivišić would finally be at UK.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am with how this all turned out. The work was done by Big Z and his family. For him to be persistent and keep fighting was so impressive and it showed how badly he wanted to be a part of our team!” the message read.
“He overcame all obstacles and just wouldn’t be deterred. When we started recruiting Z, my mind started moving to how we can help our University become even more prominent worldwide. This basketball program is a global brand and now we can continue to open new avenues for students to come to the University of Kentucky. Let’s continue to pursue some of the best basketball players in the world and showcase what a great institution the University of Kentucky is!”
While making appearances on ESPN platforms during Kentucky’s Pro Day on Wednesday night, Calipari spoke repeatedly about how he believes the arrival of Ivišić at UK could help grow the global brand of the school for both athletes and non-athletes alike.
Although fall semester classes at UK have been ongoing since late August, Ivišić will have the chance to enroll in “part of term” classes.
While this clears an obvious hurdle for Ivišić in his pursuit to play college basketball this season for the Wildcats, others still remain.
Ivišić needs to be cleared to play by the NCAA.
When contacted by the Herald-Leader several weeks ago, an NCAA representative could not confirm that Ivišić has been cleared to play.
While being on campus clearly isn’t the same as appearing in a game, Ivišić’s arrival in Lexington will undoubtedly quell the fears of some Kentucky fans that Ivišić’s situation could mirror that of Enes Kanter Freedom or Shaedon Sharpe, two highly ranked UK recruits that made it to Lexington, but never played in a game for the Cats.
Freshman Zvonimir Ivišić would be the tallest player to be coached by John Calipari at UK. Filip Roganovic SC Derby
Zvonimir Ivišić represented Croatia at the FIBA Under-20 European Championship tournament this summer. He averaged 11.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 blocks and shot 34% on three-point attempts in 19 minutes per game. FIBA
Ivišić would offer depth at key position for Kentucky
UK has an obvious need for Ivišić: The Wildcats currently have no healthy, scholarship centers.
Freshman Aaron Bradshaw injured his foot in late March and underwent a procedure in June. Returning sophomore Ugonna Onyenso suffered a foot injury during Kentucky’s summer exhibition trip to Canada in July and also underwent a procedure.
On Wednesday, Calipari floated a timeline ranging from five to seven weeks for the return of both Bradshaw and Onyenso.
This would rule them out for key early-season matchups against the likes of Kansas and Miami, among others.
While both players were sidelined during that summer exhibition trip in Canada, fifth-year transfer Tre Mitchell received the bulk of the minutes at the “five” spot for Kentucky.
In addition to this clear need, Ivišić is set to bring an intriguing skill set with him to Lexington.
In Adriatic League games with SC Derby, Ivišić averaged 5.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 10 minutes per game.
At the Under-20 European Championships with Croatia in July, Ivišić averaged 11.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 blocks and shot 34% on three-point attempts in 19 minutes per game.
During Wednesday’s UK Pro Day, several Kentucky coaches spoke glowingly about what they feel Ivišić can bring to the Cats.
Associate coach Orlando Antigua described Ivišić as a mobile rim protector with skill.
Assistant coach Chuck Martin added that Ivišić has the ability to block shots from the weak side, and then quickly transition to offense. Martin said this specific ability will help Ivišić make an early impact for Kentucky while he familiarizes himself with college basketball and his new team.
Ivišić entered and withdrew his name from consideration in the last two NBA Drafts, which means he will be unable to withdraw the next time he enters for NBA Draft consideration.
Exhibition contests have also been announced against Georgetown College (Oct. 27) and Kentucky State (Nov. 2) ahead of the season opener against New Mexico State (Nov. 6).
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
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