LEXINGTON — Kentucky fans made Croatian freshman Zvonimir Ivisic feel at home Friday night.
Making his first appearance at Rupp Arena during the Wildcats‘ annual Big Blue Madness event, Ivisic received a raucous response from those in attendance — one of the loudest ovations for any player or coach Friday night.
Though he suited up in a practice uniform — featuring his No. 44 jersey — Ivisic did not participate in any on-court activities Friday, which included an intrasquad scrimmage to cap the event.
But his on-court debut might not be far off.
After the scrimmage concluded, Kentucky coach John Calipari grabbed a microphone and told fans “if you wanna see Big Z” — the nickname Calipari gave Ivisic after he signed with the Wildcats — play for the first time, they need to purchase tickets for next week’s Blue-White preseason scrimmage, which is scheduled at 6 p.m. Oct. 21 at Truist Arena in Highland Heights. Truist Arena is the home venue for Northern Kentucky University‘s men’s and women’s basketball teams.
Even though he was merely an observer at Big Blue Madness, Friday was the culmination of a long, winding road for Ivisic to join UK’s 2023-24 roster.
A 7-foot-2, 234-pound big man, Ivisic committed to Kentucky on Aug. 1, becoming the eighth (and final) member of the team’s 2023 recruiting class.
“I got the offer for scholarship by Coach Calipari to attend the University of Kentucky,” Ivisic said in an Instagram Stories post. “I’m excited to tell that I accepted the scholarship and I will play there next season. Go Big Blue!!”
Less than two weeks later, Calipari officially welcomed Ivisic to the program.
“Big Z is a dynamic and modern big who has guard-like skills but can make a major impact around the rim,” Calipari said in a statement. “Defensively, he is an elite shot blocker who moves well for being 7-foot-2 and can impact the game from the outside-in because of his ability to make 3s. As excited as he is to play for us, I’m just as excited to have the opportunity to coach him.
“We can’t wait to get him to campus to get integrated with our team and our culture.”
Getting him to campus was easier said than done.
Despite committing on the first day of August, and Calipari’s comments two weeks later, Ivisic’s enrollment became an ongoing drama for the next two months. Ivisic finally was admitted to the university Oct. 4.
He arrived in Lexington on Thursday.
Ivisic played for SC Derby in the ABA League — the top league of teams from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia) — the past two seasons. During the 2021-22 campaign, he took 34 shots; 23 of those were beyond the 3-point arc (67.6% of his total field-goal attempts). But last season, he wasn’t as 3-point reliant, with only 38.5% (20 of 52) of his field-goal attempts from long range.
Ivisic averaged 3.9 points and 2.4 rebounds during the 2022-23 regular season, but his blocks-per-game mark (1.0) was fifth best in the ABA. And he stepped up in the postseason versus the eventual league champion, Partizan: Ivisic averaging 15.7 points on 63.3% shooting (19 of 30) and 8.3 rebounds in three games.
Source : Courier Journal
