It's Deja Vu for Zvonimir Ivisic at Arkansas

Zvonimir Ivisic was the first Kentucky Wildcat to follow John Calipari to Arkansas. His season in Fayetteville hasn’t looked too different than his season in Lexington, albeit without the delayed start.

Big Z became an overnight Croatian Sensation when he made his debut as a Wildcat. The Rupp 2 No Good crew led a campaign to put a Free Big Z billboard outside of NCAA headquarters. The skilled 7-footer received the green light to play for the Wildcats soon after and made one of the most remarkable debuts in Kentucky basketball history.

Ivisic entered the game against Georgia and immediately swatted a shot. The crowd got on its feet when he made a behind-the-back pass to an open three-point shooter. Then he decided to get in on the fun from downtown. He hit three three-pointers to produce an all-time crowd pop at Rupp Arena. In only 16 minutes, Zvonimir Ivisic had 13 points, five rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and two assists.

Replicating that performance was impossible and understandably so. For the next month, John Calipari reluctantly played the big man. He did not log 20+ minutes in another game until late February when he scored 18 points and grabbed five boards in a win over Alabama. He only scored in double figures one more time for the rest of the season.

It never felt like Big Z was completely in John Calipari’s good graces. He played sparingly but had great moments on the court. Many hoped he would remain in Lexington and play point center for Mark Pope. It wasn’t for a lack of effort from the new Kentucky head coach.

“Well, I did get a chance to talk to him a couple times. Clearly I liked him a lot more than he liked me,” Pope joked Thursday.

Instead, he stuck with the guy who brought him to America to play college basketball. Was that a wise decision?

An Inconsistent Season in Arkansas

Let’s put it plainly, it felt like John Calipari never loved Big Z’s game at Kentucky. His strengths are on offense, not in defense and rebounding, which is probably why Ivisic’s minutes were inconsistent. One year later, it still feels like Calipari isn’t a big fan of Big Z.

Zvonimir Ivisic had 14 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocked shots in a loss at Missouri on Jan. 18. It was the first time he played more than 20 minutes in a game since he faced off against his brother on Thanksgiving.

Most people understood why the 7-footer’s playing time was limited at Kentucky. He didn’t start playing in games until January, putting him behind the 8-ball in his first college basketball season. He’s only averaging six more minutes per game at Arkansas.

The Razorbacks rank 224th in three-point shooting. Big Z is Arkansas’ best three-point shooter (40.6%) and best shot-blocker (34), yet he’s only tallying 17 minutes per game and has been replaced in the starting lineup by Jonas Aidoo. It doesn’t make much sense.

Big Z has flashed so much potential during his college basketball career. He has failed to find any consistency while playing for John Calipari at Arkansas.