John Calipari: "I really believe (Zvonimir Ivisic) will get his chance."

Instead of a New Year’s Resolution, John Calipari told his players to pick a word they could live by for a year, one that would go on the mirror in their rooms. His word last year was ‘resilient,’ this year it’s ‘joy.’

“Every day I’m walking in, I’ve got a smile on my face,” he said.

When it was Zvonimir Ivisic‘s turn to share his answer, everybody in the room froze, players and coaches needing a minute to soak it in.

“Patience.”

This is a kid who had every reason to grow impatient, fed up with waiting for admissions to let him in and the NCAA to declare him eligible. Could have taken the easy route, packing his bags and returning home for good, giving up on his time at Kentucky to focus on what’s next. Instead, he made the decision to fly back to Lexington and see things through as a Wildcat.

Coach Cal is hopeful his patience pays off in the form of clearance — our first real positive update on Ivisic’s case since he arrived on campus.

“He’s still trying, you know, going through that process,” Calipari said. “And he’s saying, ‘I’m being patient.’ He practiced today, he’s doing all the stuff for the guys. He’s a great teammate. I’m anxious for this to happen for him.”

Calipari said he’s fighting for Ivisic like the 7-2 forward is his own son, “screaming from the rooftops” in an effort to get him cleared. “We knew everything that was going on with this, it started in July.’

“What I loved is when I talked to the kid, I knew he wanted to play for us. He wanted to play for me.”

He acknowledged the speculation regarding Ivisic potentially returning home to Croatia for the holidays and staying for good, opting to begin the draft process rather than trying his luck any longer with the NCAA.

“But I had to (bring him back),” Calipari said. “If it were your son, would you want me to call you and say we couldn’t send him home? We sent him home and I let him stay extra because he’s in Croatia. He wasn’t in Buffalo. Then he came back. You know why? Because he loves it here and he wants to play for this team. He said, ‘I’m going to be patient.'”

Now, it’s up to the NCAA to do the right thing and make his efforts worthwhile.

“Let’s hope some people that are making decisions look at it as, OK, if this were my son, how would I want this dealt with? If it’s my son, how would I fight for him? Or do I stay quiet? It’s my son. What would I do? And that’s how I’m looking at it. Kid is my son, what am I going to do? I’m preparing him like he’s playing. I’m not going to coach him any differently.”

Calipari says he’s “the greatest,” walking in every day with a slap and a, ‘Hey Coach Cal!’ Big ‘ole grin on his face. And he’s playing well, too, adding that Ivisic swatted Tre Mitchell’s shot in a one-on-one drill, a sequence that blew the fifth-year senior away.

“I forgot how long he is,” Mitchell told Calipari.

The Kentucky head coach couldn’t give a firm answer either way — you know how things are with the NCAA — but for the first time, he expressed optimism about how things are trending.

“We’ll see,” Calipari said. “I really believe he’ll get his chance and it should be fun when he does.”