Kentucky basketball loses Croatian big man to transfer portal before Mark Pope takeover

Kentucky basketball is losing a player to transfer portal amid the departure of former Wildcats head coach John Calipari and the arrival of Mark Pope to Lexington, with Jeff Borzell of ESPN reporting that Zvonimir Ivisic is looking to take his talents somewhere else.

NEWS: Kentucky freshman Zvonimir Ivisic has entered the transfer portal, source told ESPN.

The 20-year-old big man from Croatia will not be part of the team that Pope is inheriting, thus denying the new head coach the chance to utilize a promising asset who would have had a bigger role for Kentucky basketball in the 2024-25 college basketball campaign.

Standing 7-2, Ivisic has the size and length to turn more heads in his second year in the NCAA, though, he will do it without benefiting the Wildcats, who are coming off a brutal first-round exit from the 2024 NCAA Tournament at the hands of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. That loss ultimately signified the end of Ivisic’s short-term with Kentucky, which did not play Ivisic until a January game against the Georgia Bulldogs at home.

It can be recalled that the NCAA took some time to review the eligibility of Ivisic, only giving him a thumbs up to appear on the court for the Wildcats in January. In his first official game in Kentucky uniform, Ivisic showed the Wildcats what they were missing, as he had 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, three blocks, and two steals, while shooting 5/7 from the field and 3/4 from behind the arc in only 16 minutes of action in a 105-96 win against Georgia.

“It felt amazing,” Ivisic said after his debut for Kentucky (via ESPN). “I was enjoying the moment, enjoying it with the crowd.”

However, Ivisic was not able to enjoy consistent minutes since that explosive debut. The long delay in his start for Kentucky was likely a major reason why Calipari did not get Ivisic ample playing time. Still, Ivisic provided glimpses of his promising talent. During a 117-95 win over then-No. 13 Alabama Crimson Tide at home, Ivisic saw action for 20 minutes and produced 18 points, five rebounds, and four blocks, while draining seven of 11 attempts from the floor.

Ivisic finished his one-season stint with the Wildcats with individual averages of 5.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists, and 1.3 blocks across 15 games played while shooting 57.7 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from the 3-point region.

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