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Zvonimir Ivisic Explains Why He Chose Kentucky, Says It Was an “Easy” Decision

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Zvonimir Ivisic dunking in international play.
FIBA Basketball

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Kentucky received a commitment from Croatian seven-footer, Zvonimir Ivisic, finalizing their 2023 roster. Despite being halfway across the world, Ivisic says Kentucky was the place for him.

Speaking with NBA Draft expert Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress and ESPN, “I always liked college basketball, but this summer finally I finished high school and started seriously thinking about it,” Ivisic said. When he started thinking about coming to the United States to play college basketball, one program that stood out from the rest, Kentucky.

“I decided to come to Kentucky because it’s the best spot in the US for talented basketball players,” Ivisic said. “Coach Calipari is a Hall of Fame coach that sent more players to the NBA than anyone else.”

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Given the Kentucky basketball prestige and John Calipari’s reputation, Ivisic says the decision was an “easy” one for him to make. Withdrawing from the 2022 and 2023 NBA Drafts, Ivisic will look to develop and make that jump to the next level with the help of the staff this season. Ivisic is expected to arrive on campus later this month.

With the international basketball talent pool growing, and the talent level at an all-time high, expect Kentucky to continue to expand the borders in their recruiting. Just take a look at the NBA, where five straight MVP awards have been won by international players.

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BB Recruiting

Top Recruit Cancels Visit to John Calipari and Arkansas, Kentucky the Perceived Leader

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Chet White | UK Athletics, Nelson Chenault | Imagn

Recruiting. That was Mark Pope’s biggest criticism at BYU and in just six months he has calmed most of those worries. In addition to recruiting thirteen guys in a little over a month for his first team, he has signed three top 30 prospects for the 2025 class, including two five stars, as Kentucky sits third overall in the recruiting rankings.

Now, it looks like Pope is nearing his first top-10 prospect, besting John Calipari and Arkansas.

Caleb Wilson, a 6-9, 205-pound wing from Atlanta, cancelled his visit to Arkansas for the second time on Thursday and is not expected to reschedule. In a recent interview with Jack Pilgrim, Wilson had less-than-ideal things to say about the Razorbacks.

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“I really have never considered or thought about Arkansas before Coach Cal went there,” Wilson said. “I’m not really in tune with the school. I never thought I would be interested in Arkansas. I never knew anything about them. I never knew they were in the SEC until like a year ago.”

Meanwhile, Wilson was in attendance for Kentucky’s win over Duke on Tuesday.

The recruitment for Wilson has been interesting. Wilson was heavily considering Kentucky when Calipari was still the head coach, attending the 2023 Big Blue Madness, and many thought that would carry over with his move to Arkansas. Towards the end of the grassroots circuit, it was clear that wasn’t the case.

That is when Kentucky started making a strong push for Wilson, with the primary competition being North Carolina. When Wilson visited Lexington in September it vaulted them to the top of the list and they have continued to carry that momentum in the weeks since. A NIL offer upwards of $2 million doesn’t hurt either.

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A final list for Wilson is expected to be released soon, with a decision coming by mid-January. You should really like Kentucky’s chances, and what a statement it would be to get a commit over Calipari and another over North Carolina (Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson).

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BREAKING: Four-Star PG Acaden Lewis Commits to Kentucky over Duke and UConn, “You Can’t Beat What They Are Doing”

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2025 four-star point guard prospect Acaden Lewis has announced his commitment to Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats.
UK Athletics

It’s a good start to the weekend as Kentucky basketball has picked up a commitment. 2025 four-star point guard Acaden Lewis from Washington, D.C., announced his commitment to Kentucky on Saturday afternoon, picking the Wildcats over Duke and Connecticut.

Funny enough, during an unofficial visit in Lexington back in June, Mark Pope joked with fans that Lewis was committing to Kentucky. While Lewis didn’t commit that day, Pope was able to seal the deal a few months later.

Why Kentucky?

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“It felt like a community. Pope, he was in the hood with me. He came to my barber shop and everything. It felt like a home. Felt like somewhere I should be. The system is great.”

Lewis joins five-star commits Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson in Kentucky’s class, and helps bolster the Wildcats’ class ranking up to second, only behind Duke. Both players recruited Lewis to join them, with Moreno joining him for part of his official visit to Kentucky back in October, including being featured in his photoshoot. Shortly after the visit, Lewis said in an interview about Kentucky, “You can’t beat what they were doing.”

While Moreno and Johnson were big recruiting victories, they were both players from Kentucky. This is Pope’s commitment from outside of the state, and he went up against the bluest of blue bloods in Duke, UConn, and North Carolina.

Now, can Lewis help Kentucky close the deal on consensus top 10 wing Caleb Wilson? The two have expressed a lot of interest in playing together, and Wilson is aiming to make a decision by December, with Kentucky as one of the two leaders.

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Scouting Report

Lewis is a lefty lead guard who is extremely talented with the ball. He has soft hands and natural touch that are the foundation of a very advanced skill set. His handle is tight, he’s a lay-up maker with both hands, and he has soft floaters and tough pull-ups alike in the mid-range area. While Lewis connected on just 31% of his threes during EYBL play, he’s a much better shooter than those numbers indicate. He made 83% of his free throws, attempted nearly 7 threes per game, and projects as someone who not only has gravity spotting up but can be a movement shooter as well.

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Malachi Moreno Helping Kentucky Recruit Top 2025 Point Guard

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Five-star Kentucky commit Malachi Moreno is helping the Wildcats recruit one of the top point guards of the 2025 class Acaden Lewis.
UK Athletics

This past weekend was a big moment for Kentucky basketball, as the first Big Blue Madness of the Mark Pope era took place. In years past, the event has hosted multiple five-star recruits and this year was no different.

While the guest list was smaller due to USA Basketball junior mini camp, the Wildcats had two top recruits in attendance, 2026 five-star Anthony Thompson and 2024 four-star combo guard Acaden Lewis.

The latter is one of Kentucky’s biggest recruiting priorities in the 2025 class and was also on campus for an official visit as he prepares to make his college decision in early November. To help was five-star commit, Malachi Moreno.

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While Moreno couldn’t make it to Big Blue Madness, he was able to meet with Lewis during his visit on Thursday and even took part in his photo shoot, as the pair posed together in Kentucky uniforms in Rupp Arena.

It helps to have a five-star commit just down the road to help recruit. Could we see the pair play together next season at Kentucky? Things are trending in that direction, but time will tell.

Also published on A Sea of Blue.

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