BREAKING: Zvonimir Ivisic cleared by the NCAA, immediately eligible
172 days after his commitment, 159 days after he signed, 108 days after he was admitted and 100 days after his arrival, Big Z has been freed.
Zvonimir Ivisic announced the news ahead of Kentucky’s matchup vs. Georgia on Saturday.
“Hey BBN, guess what? I’m free. See you all tonight at the game. Thank you all for the support. Go BBN!”
“We’re happy to share that (Zvonimir Ivisic) is eligible to play,” UK AD Mitch Barnhart announced. “Want to thank everyone at the (University of Kentucky), our (UK Athletics) staff and the (NCAA) for working through this. Exciting time for (John Calipari), (Kentucky basketball) and #BBN. Go Big Blue!”
John Calipari spoke on Ivisic’s behalf following Kentucky’s win over Mississippi State on Wednesday, begging the NCAA to give him a chance to prove himself.
“It’s not fair,” he said. “For him to go through what he did to get into school for two months, what he’s doing academically, how he is as a teammate. Every day he walks in, he says, ‘Hey, Coach Cal!’ Yesterday, or two days ago, I said to him, you know, I just want you to know I feel bad because I don’t like how you were treated from the beginning to now. And he said, ‘Coach, I’m good. I’m good. I appreciate you saying it, but I’m good.’ He’s just a great kid and he deserves it.
“Look, if it were your son, how would you feel right now? He just turned 20. He was a 19-year-old, 20, playing amateur basketball over there. They can make it however they want to make it. ‘But, well, what about this? What about that?’ I get it. I get it. But, you know, he’s a great kid that deserves it.”
The Kentucky head coach added that he would not be redshirting the 7-2 forward out of Croatia. If he were to be ruled eligible, he’d play. Calipari didn’t know how much, but after everything he’s been through, Ivisic will get his shot.
“I’ll play him. I don’t know how much,” he said. “Maybe both big guys don’t do (well) and then he goes nuts and we look around and say, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re not gonna play anymore.’ Maybe, or maybe it’s like, ‘Geesh, these two are better than him.’ We’ll see. Let’s just get him eligible. You ready for this? For him. For him.”
And that’s exactly what happened. Ivisic’s basketball future is now in his own hands.
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