Zvonimir Ivisic will not play (including exhibitions) until approved by NCAA

Yesterday, John Calipari said he anticipated Zvonimir Ivišić playing in Kentucky’s exhibition vs. Kentucky State next week. Turns out that decision is in the hands of the NCAA. UK Athletics just issued a statement saying that Ivišić cannot play against outside competition until he is cleared by the NCAA, which has yet to happen.

“As a department, we want to clarify, Zvonimir Ivišić has been cleared to practice and play in all intrasquad games. That said, he can not compete against outside competition, including exhibition games, until he is approved by the NCAA. There was miscommunication in this regard and, as we always do, we plan to adhere to NCAA rules. Until he is fully cleared, Zvonimir will be withheld from games against outside competition.”

At Media Day, John Calipari was not asked about Ivišić’s eligibility status but said that he would likely hold the freshmen out of the exhibition tomorrow night vs. Georgetown College as a conditioning matter.

“Probably next week,” Calipari said of when Big Z will finally take the court. “He’s not going [full contact in practice] today. He’s going to do individual work but he’s not going to go body-to-body with his teammates. So, if you all know, I’m normally the guy that says, if you’re not going to practice [the day] before, you’re not going to play the game.”

That leaves Tre Mitchell as Kentucky’s only available player 6’9″ or taller as Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso continue to recover from foot injuries. Kentucky hosts Georgetown College tomorrow night and Kentucky State next Thursday for exhibitions before tipping off the season for real vs. New Mexico State on Nov. 6.

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More on Ivisic’s ramp-up process

After a long admissions process, Ivisic finally arrived in Lexington on Oct. 12 and started going full contact in practice on Oct. 18. He sat out Kentucky’s scrimmage at Madness, after which Calipari told fans to get ready for his debut at the Blue-White Game. Calipari later decided against playing Big Z in the intrasquad scrimmage, a decision he explained more at Media Day.

“We do the ramp-up. I was uncomfortable — and I’m just telling you, when I saw him the first time, I think it was his excitement to be playing. Alright, this is what I’m seeing. But he’s gonna be fine. I’m just a little leery.”

What is Kentucky’s ramp-up process?

“Well, it starts with what his issues are,” Calipari said. “You deal with those and then you deal with the conditioning. And then you deal with two-on-two, three-on-three, and then, ‘Alright, you’re ready to go?’ And I think we threw him in a little bit too fast, with what we did. And it was good. I mean anybody that came in and watched was like, ‘Yeah, he’s good.’ He’s a good basketball player. He’s not like King Kong. He’s not. He’s another piece for us.”

Hopefully one the NCAA will let us see soon.

Calipari on Big Z’s eligibility at SEC Media Day

Last week at SEC Basketball Media Day, Calipari said he didn’t anticipate issues with the NCAA regarding Ivisic.

“The academic hurdles are done. He’s done well with that stuff. That was done well in advance. The normal procedure when he shows up on campus, they go through the other stuff, which is eligibility and all that.

“Knowing that he played on a development team and the club he was in and all that, I feel good. But they got to go through the process of doing it. So they’ll ask questions and all that.”

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