Livescore
Kentucky fans not-so-subtly petitioned the NCAA this week by standing up billboards with the hashtag #FREEBIGZ in Indianapolis near NCAA headquarters in an effort to clear freshman big man Zvonimir Ivisic as snags in his eligibility bled deeper and deeper into the season. On Saturday, Kentucky fans got what they were hoping for as UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart announced just a few hours before the team’s tip vs. Georgia that Ivisic has indeed been cleared.
“We’re happy to share that Zvonimir Ivisic is eligible to play,” said Barnhart. “Want to thank everyone at the University of Kentucky, our University of Kentucky Athletics staff, and the NCAA for working through this.”
“Hey BBN,” Ivisic said in a separate video post on his social media. “Guess what? I’m free. See y’all tonight at the game. And thank you all for the support.”
Ivisic, a 7-foot-1 center from Croatia, committed to Kentucky last August but missed the team’s first 16 games amid complications with clearing his eligibility. As The Athletic’s Kyle Tucker reports, Ivisic’s eligibility was first delayed by the school’s admissions process, which then delayed his arrival. It’s been confusing and chaotic in the months since with no real explanation on why he could not get cleared.
He was first delayed by complications in the school’s admissions process, which pushed back his campus arrival to Oct. 12. Since then, the NCAA’s clearinghouse has left him in continued limbo. Because Ivisic played for a professional team in Europe — albeit one with an academic component — he needed to provide sufficient proof that he maintained amateur status by not receiving compensation beyond necessary expenses. [The Athletic]
Kentucky’s 2023 recruiting class ranked No. 1 in college hoops with Ivisic, a late add in the cycle, expected to serve a vital role for a UK team that needed depth in the frontcourt.
UK’s size has been one of its biggest concerns all season, too, making Ivisic’s eligibility being rectified all the more impactful. The team started the year without both Ugonna Onyenso and Aaron Bradshaw — 7-footers who figured to be key pieces — leaving coach John Calipari to patch up the roster with 6-foot-9 forward Tre Mitchell playing the 5 early in the season.
Bradshaw and Onyenso have each been in the lineup for Kentucky for just over a month now and emerged as important pieces for a top-10 Kentucky team that’s won seven of its last eight. But the addition of a versatile Ivisic should further elevate this team’s ceiling in the coming weeks and months as March Madness quickly approaches.
“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 August in a news release announcing his signing. “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 threes.”
Ivisic played the last two seasons for SC Derby in the ABA League where he averaged 3.4 points, 0.8 blocks and 67.4% shooting from two-point range.
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