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Men's Basketball

Zvonimir Ivisic is Yet to Join Kentucky Basketball Team Due to Admission Issue

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YouTube/Asuch

On August 14th, the Kentucky men’s basketball team put out a video on X officially announcing the arrival of Croatian big man Zvonimir Ivisic.

This post was supposed to be the official indicator that Ivisic was finally in Lexington and with the team. Even John Calipari sent out a post about how excited he was to have Ivisic.

But, to just about everyone’s surprise, Ivisic isn’t even in the United States, and doubts are growing on if he’ll ever even be a Kentucky Wildcat. So, what’s going on?

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Lack of English Proficiency

One of the main speculations going around is that Ivisic is not very literate in English, and the UK Admissions Office requires people to be proficient in English in order to be admitted. As a foreigner, it could be expected that Ivisic’s English is not the best, but he in fact speaks English just fine.

Unfair Standards

To add on to the English-speaking issue, the University of Kentucky isn’t exactly known for being hard to get into. The acceptance rate for the university is 94.5%. The word around town is that Ivisic did not take a UK-approved English literacy test, although he did pass an English literacy test.

The University of Kentucky prides itself on being accepting and diverse, but in this case, the Admissions Office seems to firmly set in stone their expectations. UK has also been known to be flexible with students who aren’t the most fluent in English or just foreign students in general, but in Ivisic’s case, that flexibility is non-existent.

False Rumors?

University of Kentucky spokesman Jay Blanton put out a statement on September 5th regarding the speculation surrounding Ivisic. The statement reads as follows:

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“Unfortunately, misinformation is being perpetuated regarding the admission status of someone wishing to attend the University of Kentucky. The truth is members of our university – from our athletics department to our administration and all other units – are working together efficiently and in a manner that is consistent with the institution’s admissions standards. These are often complex issues, with multiple aspects to them, and they require many people, working to do the right thing for an individual wishing to attend the university. That is what we are doing. Spreading unfounded rumors helps no one.”

So, who really knows what’s going on? All we can truly say is that something is keeping Ivisic off of the team and that in itself is a major issue.


While the clock is ticking for Ivisic to get enrolled, other teams are ready to jump at the opportunity to add him to their team. Eli Capiluto and the president’s office can technically pass a waiver to allow for Ivisic’s enrollment.

Hopefully, Kentucky doesn’t have another Enes Kanter situation. Having Ivisic would be a massive addition to a roster that is depleted of big men. With the injury bug affecting Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso, Ivisic’s pending enrollment is all the more important for Calipari’s team.

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Commits Post About Their Official Visits: “Can’t wait to get to work”

Two of Kentucky’s transfer commitments took to X over the weekend to share their excitement over the upcoming basketball season.

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Kentucky combo guard Denzel Aberdeen
UF Athletics

Over the weekend, four of Kentucky’s transfer portal commitments met in Lexington, with Coach Mark Pope, for their officials visits to campus and the surrounding area.

After a series of pictures from the players were posted from the team’s practice facility, the Joe Craft Center, the squad took to Kentucky Proud Park to watch the Bat ‘Cats take on the visiting South Carolina Gamecocks. The new team and Coach Pope made sure to pose for pictures with fans, which made their way onto social media later that afternoon to a chorus of praise from the Big Blue Nation.

But the fans weren’t the only ones with excitement to share about this visit.

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“MAN I LOVE KENTUCKY!”

All four of Denzel Aberdeen, Kam Williams, Mouhamed Dioubate and Jaland Lowe took to X, expressing their gratitude for the opportunity to play in Kentucky blue, as well the fans and culture that come with that.

“The culture and love that Kentucky has for their players is very special and something that I will never take for granted,” said Williams. “I was blessed to have my official visit today and honestly can’t wait to suit up and play for all the fans. Can’t wait to get to work!”

Aberdeen shared a similar sentiment, stating, “MAN I LOVE KENTUCKY! Had a great official visit today in Lexington, cannot wait to represent the University and its culture. #BBN” Dioubate said that the “love and respect” on the visit was “surreal.”

Lowe called the trip to campus a “dream come true,” adding, ” All eyes on number 9.”

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The four posts share nearly 350,000 views, 9,000+ likes, and more than 450 replies on the platform, full of fans echoing the players’ excitement and sharing encouragement for this upcoming season.

Already, Mark Pope’s newest team is making a positive impression on the fanbase, in more ways than one. It may mean more in the SEC, but in Lexington, it means something different entirely. The 2025-26′ team is built to prove that.

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Men's Basketball

Four of Kentucky’s Newest Transfers Take First Official Visits to Campus

Three of Kentucky’s newest batch of transfer commitments have found their way to Lexington for their first official visit as signees.

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Kentucky point guard Jaland Lowe.
Pitt Athletics

Mark Pope’s recently revealed vision for the 2025-26′ men’s basketball roster is starting to come to life, as a batch of commitments came together to take their first official visits to Lexington.

Jaland Lowe, Mouhamed Dioubate, Kam Williams, and Denzel Aberdeen appear to have visited Kentucky together over the weekend, with each of the former three signees posting photos of the team’s practice facility in tandem with one another on Instagram. Aberdeen, while not posting a photo himself, was spotted alongside his new teammates over the weekend at a Kentucky Baseball game taking pictures with fans.

Four of Pope’s ‘Cats have found their new home.

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Familiar Territory

For Williams and Lowe, this would mark the first time they’ve been in the commonwealth as an athlete, given each of their respective origins in different conferences, on either side of the country. Dioubate and Aberdeen, however, have been to Lexington on multiple occasions, playing against the Wildcats as a former member of the Alabama Crimson Tide and Florida Gators, respectively.

Their change of loyalty marks the move of two of the SEC’s most notable transfers a little further north, and when they’re paired with the other two visitors on the court come season-time, Kentucky will pose an athletic, high-energy nightmare for opposing teams every night out.

The commits’ quadruple visit comes just days after a video was posted on the Kentucky Men’s Basketball X (Twitter) account, featuring returning talent Trent Noah and Brandon Garrison already putting in work for the upcoming season, in the same gym that Lowe and company were touring, the Joe Craft Center.

As the pieces start to click together and more members of next year’s full roster make their way to campus, barring any additional, surprising additions, Kentucky fans will soon get a look at Mark Pope’s sophomore team in action.

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Summer runs are on the horizon, and Rupp is practically buzzing already. November can’t come soon enough.

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Men's Basketball

CBS Sports: Kentucky Has “ended pursuits” in Transfer Portal Following Aberdeen Commitment

In the wake of yet another addition to Kentucky’s incoming roster, CBS Sports reports that Coach Pope and staff may have closed the portal.

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Mark Pope and staff may have everything they need from the transfer portal.
Chet White | UK Athletics

Following another flurry of transfer portal additions in his second year at the helm, it appears that Mark Pope and staff are satisfied with their sophomore haul. The portal in Lexington may be officially closed for the 2025-26′ season.

Right after Kentucky received the surprising commitment of Denzel Aberdeen, Matt Norlander, an analyst for CBS Sports, posted the following on X (Twitter):

“Barring any portal defections, Kentucky has ended its pursuits of all other portal targets, sources told CBS Sports. Getting Aberdeen today [April 21] meant they’ve moved off Andrej Stojakovic, Rylan Griffen, etc. Otega Oweh going through pre-draft process-but I expect him back in Lex”.

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With the addition of Aberdeen, the Wildcats’ roster ballooned to near-max capacity for next season. Seeing two of the team’s walk-on players, Grant Darbyshire and Walker Horn, enter the transfer portal seemed to all but confirm this suspicion, too.

Losing One of Our Own

That is, until last night. With less than two hours remaining for players to do so, Travis Perry shocked much of the Big Blue Nation by throwing his name into the hat. This came just weeks after a string of comments from the Kentucky-native point guard seemed to confirm his return for a sophomore season.

Though all the same, given Kentucky’s bulk of back-court additions this offseason, his departure makes sense for the sake of playing time alone. The Lyon King will be sorely missed.

So while the Kentucky staff may still be very much content with their current roster, with hundreds of players remaining in the portal and an unexpected spot on the roster coming open, another grab is far from out of the question.

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Who Coach Pope and company would go after is entirely unclear, as that potential player would likely have to accept a minimized role off the bench for a stretch of his time in Lexington. If anything, the logical replacement would be a direct fill-in at the PG2/PG3 spot in Perry’s absence.

Either way, the ‘Cats are set to come into next season as one of the most exciting teams in college basketball with a ceiling far out of view. Mark Pope continues to prove his prowess in the transfer market, too, easing the worries of Wildcats fans and closing the door on many supposed “insiders” who’ve spent the last month suggesting otherwise.

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