Zvonimir Ivisic has plenty of confidence on offense, but needs more on defense

Zvonimir Ivisic certainly doesn’t lack any confidence on the offensive side of the ball. He has no conscious when it comes to firing off catch-and-shoot three-pointers with a defender in his grill or throwing obscene no-look dimes to cutting Wildcats.

You don’t drop 13 points on 5-7 shooting in your college debut without having an extra level of audacity that might get you pulled from the lineup in a matter of seconds. His style of play looks even more ridiculous considering he’s 7-foot-2 and runs like his knees are bent toward each other. But that’s part of what makes him such an intriguing prospect.

John Calipari is beginning to use Ivisic more and more, too. As the Croatian freshman grows more comfortable — he’s still only 10 games into his college career — so does his head coach’s belief in him. Ivisic played a season-high 20 minutes against Alabama last weekend, finishing with 18 points, five rebounds, and four blocks on 7-11 shooting.

He then set a new season-high in minutes played (21) the next time out against Mississippi State on Tuesday, although with far less production. Ivisic registered just two points (1-5 FG) in the win over the Bulldogs, although he did chip in four rebounds, three blocks, and a steal. But in both games, he wasn’t afraid to shoot the rock or make the ridiculous pass.

What Calipari wants to see more of is that same level of confidence on the defensive end of the floor. Not just in blocking shots, but by battling against opposing bigs and using his enormous 235-pound frame to be a bully in the paint. He was lacking some of that against a very physical Mississippi State squad that quite literally tossed him around.

“He’s getting better, he’s getting more confident,” Calipari said during his weekly radio show on Wednesday night. “And most of his confidence, where it’s gotta grow, is on the defensive end. And he physically fought. Now he got thrown to the floor three times. I’m looking at the officials, what are we playing here, is this mud wrestling? How are they throwing him to the floor? But he fought, if you watched, he had a couple blocks.”

Defense hasn’t come as easily to Ivisic as the offense. He’s an instinctive shot blocker but isn’t always in the right place at the right time. The more he plays, the quicker he’ll pick up on it. Don’t be shocked if he’s regularly soaking up 20 or more minutes per game moving forward. He brings a different flavor on offense than fellow big man Ugonna Onyenso without sacrificing much of the rim protection.

“The best thing is, if (Ivisic) rolls to the rim, he is big,” Calipari continued. “7-foot-2. And he catches and reacts quickly. In the middle if (the defense) try to hard show or trap our pick and roll, you can throw it to him and he can make the right play. So it’s nice, it’s another basketball player you have out there.”