"He shoots it like a 2-guard": ESPN goes in-depth on Zvonimir Ivisic's debut

Zvonimir Ivisic has played just two college games, both ending with vastly different results. His official debut on Saturday was something out of Hollywood: 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, three blocks, and two steals in just 16 minutes. Game number two, however, on Tuesday against South Carolina saw the other end of the spectrum: three points, two rebounds, and two blocks in 10 minutes.

Kentucky won the first game in celebratory fashion at home but lost the second in a crushing defeat on the road. Regardless, all the college basketball world wants to talk about is how Ivisic impacts John Calipari’s team moving forward.

Over at ESPN, staff writer Jeff Borzello talked with a slew of SEC coaches and NBA scouts to try and figure that out. The consensus? Ivisic is a borderline unicorn and raises Kentucky’s ceiling, but it could be a process of getting him up to speed.

How will Zvonimir Ivisic impact Kentucky the rest of the season? Will he be more like the player who took the country by storm on Saturday or the freshman who will take time to acclimate? I talked to SEC coaches and NBA scouts to get their early thoughts:https://t.co/6JOKzv29Je

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) January 25, 2024

With two completely different performances to peruse, coaches and scouts are already buying into Ivisic as a legitimate impact player. A combination of skill, high basketball IQ, and the ability to shoot from deep all at 7-foot-2 creates a player that Borzello compared to current Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis. One SEC coach described Ivisic as a “point center.”

“(Aaron) Bradshaw can shoot it, but not like (Ivisic). He shoots it like a 2-guard,” an SEC coach told Borzello.

“I think he’s a good shooter. He’s a very skilled guy,” another SEC coach said. “He had the one rebound against Georgia, where he [grabbed it and] led the break. He catches the ball on the move and makes a spin move, tries to dunk it. I don’t think you can fake that, especially a guy at his size. He’s going to be a 5 for Kentucky, but he’s really more of a 7-foot-2 4-man, both offensively and defensively.”

For the most part, the coaches and scouts heaped praise on Ivisic. After all, prospects like him don’t come around all that often. But there were some question marks surrounding Kentucky’s future rotation and how Calipari plans to incorporate a third seven-footer in the lineup. Getting bullied by a bigger, more physical South Carolina team raised an eyebrow or two, as well.

That being said, those minor concerns were downplayed simply due to Ivisic’s overwhelming talent level.

To read the entirety of Borzello’s breakdown, which includes several more promising quotes on Big Z, click the link here.