After John Calipari told fans to buy tickets to the annual Blue-White game to get their first look at Zvonimir “Big Z” Ivisic on the court, there was understandable frustration when it was announced that he would not play the day of the scrimmage. The reason given was that Ivisic was simply not ready. Since then, it has been echoed by others, even inside the program, that there is a lot of catching up to do.
At media day on Tuesday, Calipari recognized the fan anticipation, even citing that Ivisic might even be frustrated by not being on the court. However, he is only trying to do right by him and won’t put him on the court until he completes his “ramp-up” and is ready.
“My guess is he’s a little frustrated with me, Calipari said. “I’m going to look after the kids and do what I think is best for them and us.”
Shortly after, Calipari said Ivisic would “probably” play in next week’s exhibition against Kentucky State.
That said, while many are ready to see him on the court, the NCAA has yet to rule on his eligibility. On Thursday, the UK Athletics department released the following statement on his eligibility status.
As a department, we want to clarify, Zvonimir Ivišić has been cleared to practice and play in all intrasquad games. That said, he can not compete against outside competition, including exhibition games, until he is approved by the NCAA. There was miscommunication in this regard and, as we always do, we plan to adhere to NCAA rules. Until he is fully cleared, Zvonimir will be withheld from games against outside competition.
While this seems concerning, confidence within the program is very high that Ivisic will be deemed eligible. If that wasn’t the case, the staff would not have made such an effort to bring him into the program.
As a positive, progressing slowly may be beneficial to Ivisic and the team. When asked, Ivisic himself answered “definitely”. While this is another hurdle for him to overcome, he is committed to playing for this program. When he is cleared expect him to “be so good for this team” as Calipari explained.
Check out Ivisic’s self-admitted nerve-racking media day interview below.
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