John Calipari releases heartfelt statement after Kentucky admits center Zvonimir Ivisic

The storyline that has been Zvonimir Ivisic’s admittance to Kentucky has been a long and winding one over the past month or so. However, with it finally seeming to have a resolution this week, John Calipari has now spoken on the matter.

Calipari shared a tweet regarding Ivisic’s entry into the University of Kentucky on Thursday morning. He credited the seven-foot Croatian for his work and patience through this process before adding that he hopes this will become the first step in helping their program be the global brand that he hopes it can be.

I can’t tell you how happy I am with how this all turned out. The work was done by Big Z and his family. For him to be persistent and keep fighting was so impressive and it showed how badly he wanted to be a part of our team! He overcame all obstacles and just wouldn’t be…

— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) October 5, 2023

“I can’t tell you how happy I am with how this all turned out,” wrote Calipari. “The work was done by Big Z and his family. For him to be persistent and keep fighting was so impressive. It showed how badly he wanted to be a part of our team! He overcame all obstacles and just wouldn’t be deterred.”

“When we started recruiting Z, my mind started moving to how we can help our University become even more prominent worldwide. This basketball program is a global brand. Now we can continue to open new avenues for students to come to the University of Kentucky,” Calipari continued. “Let’s continue to pursue some of the best basketball players in the world and showcase what a great institution the University of Kentucky is!”

Ivisic committed to and signed with Kentucky back at the start of August. Come the start of September, though, the murmurs regarding issues with his admittance, ones that stemmed from a matter regarding his English proficiency test, became louder and louder.

Throughout the past month, the potential Ivisic’s arrival in Lexington went back and forth. It would seem likely but then turn to nearly impossible throughout different points due to admissions. It also took turns when other schools got in the mix and attempted to pry him away.

Still, through the effort on both sides, Calipari and Kentucky were able to help Ivisic get across the finish line.

There’s no guarantee of what Ivisic will be as a Wildcat. That’s especially so with him not arriving on campus until halfway through the semester. Still, with injury concerns in UK’s frontcourt still, his addition is only a positive as the staff will now look to get him up to speed.

More on Ivisic’s acceptance into the University of Kentucky

At long last, there’s good news for ‘Big Z’. After a long and drawn-out saga over academic eligibility, Zvonimir Ivisic is in the student directory.

The Herald Leader’s Ben Roberts reported that update on Wednesday morning. He tweeted out a story  noting that “Zvonimir Ivišić has been admitted to the university as a student and still has a path to eligibility for the 2023-24 season, UK confirms to the Herald-Leader.”

Kentucky Sports Radio’s Jack Pilgrim hinted that this news was coming in a KSBoard post last night. He believes the UK staff “finally got this thing across the finish line.”

Neither Pilgrim or Roberts has confirmed for certain he’ll be able to suit up for this year’s team. For now, though, they appear to have hurdled the major obstacle in academic eligibility.