Report: Kentucky transfer Zvonimir Ivisic to meet with Mark Pope on Monday

Zvonimir Ivisic entered his name into the transfer portal on Saturday amidst the coaching change at Kentucky from John Calipari, the coach he committed to and played for last season, to Mark Pope, the program’s new leader. However, rumor has it that a potential return to Lexington might not be off the table for him.

The Athletic’s Kyle Tucker shared the news on Ivisic on Sunday just a few hours after Pope’s introductory press conference inside Rupp Arena. He said that he had heard that Ivisic would be meeting with Pope first thing on Monday to discuss his possible future with the Wildcats.

“Hearing 7-foot-2 Zvonimir Ivisic, aka Big Z, will sit down with Mark Pope tomorrow morning and give him a shot at bringing the Croatian Sensation back to Kentucky,” Tucker wrote on Twitter.

Ivisic came to the bluegrass this past season as a native of Vodice, Croatia. He was the final addition to the Wildcats’ roster back in August but didn’t receive admittance into the university or arrive on campus until October and didn’t receive eligibility from the NCAA until late January.

In 15 appearances, Ivisic averaged 5.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks while shooting 57.7% from the field and 37.5% from three. Some of his highlights obviously included his incredible debut against Georgia along with impressive efforts in wins over Alabama and Arkansas.

Ivisic was one of eight freshmen on the roster for Kentucky this past season. They came together to make up the No. 1 class in the country per On3’s 2023 Industry Basketball Team Recruiting Rankings. Ivisic had far more diverse experience, though, having played overseas as well as having worked out for the past two NBA Drafts.

Since the end of the season, Ivisic is one of four players for Kentucky that have entered the portal. Adou Thiero was first while Aaron Bradshaw, Joey Hart, and Ivisic have all come since the coaching shift.

Upon Ivisic’s entry into the portal, the expectation was that he would follow Calipari to Fayetteville. On3’s Jamie Shaw had even entered an RPM Prediction, one with 60% confidence, earlier on Sunday for Ivisic to eventually end up with the Razorbacks.

Still, Ivisic has only been in the portal for a day with plenty of options still open to him. That, per Tucker, would include a return to Kentucky with him set to speak with the Wildcats’ new head coach to open the week.