Zvonimir Ivisic: A Full Outlook

Zvonimir Ivisic, nicknamed “Big Z”, is one of the more interesting prospects in the upcoming collegiate basketball season. Ivisic is a 7’2 center rising sophomore who has shown flashes as a big who can stretch the floor and also be a defensive anchor as a rim protector. His story is interesting as he became eligible to play under Coach John Calipari at Kentucky during the 2023-2024 season in mid-January and followed him to Arkansas for the upcoming season. Before playing college basketball, Ivisic played professionally overseas with SC Derby, a team in Montenegro.

Strengths:

• ● Shooting mechanics

• ● Size and length

• ● Shot blocking

• ● Good touch in the paint

• ● Help Defense

• ● Screen Setter

• ● Solid roll man on offense

• ● Creates putback opportunities

Weaknesses:

● Poor defensive rebounder
● Not strong enough
● Not a switchable defender
● Lost in pick and roll on defense ● Occasional foul trouble

● Not a lob threat

● Streaky shooting

Shooting:
Big Z has soft and steady shooting mechanics with a willingness to shoot threes. His

release point makes it very hard to contest and has a consistent form from his windup to his actual release of the ball. His per 36 at SC Derby showcased a whopping 7 3PA. At Kentucky, he shot 37.5% on 3.3 3PA per 36. He also shot over 77% from the free-throw line at Kentucky. Additionally, 19% of his shot diet came from the three-point line last year. Shooting is a key part of his offense and will need to continue improving his efficiencies throughout the next season.

Interior Offense:
Ivisic has a strong presence around the rim and garners substantial attention from help

defenders. He consistently gets good positioning around the rim and has a variety of moves but would benefit from getting stronger. He moves well in a pick and roll as a roll man and has good touch around the rim as well. At Kentucky, 56% of his shot attempts were at the rim. He has shown that he can make the simple passes while hes posting up but should not be relied upon as a primary passer. Big Z also gets a lot of putback attempts and has a solid offensive rebound percentage of 10.1%.

Defense:
Big Z is a poor perimeter defender. He moves his feet well but is much too slow to keep up with guards and wings. He can also get lost in pick-and-roll coverage and would benefit by sticking to drop coverage given that he has great size and length. He has poor jumping ability but makes up for it with his 7’2 height and long wingspan. On the interior, he has great instincts for contesting and blocking shots. He moves his feet relatively well for a 7’2 center but there is still plenty of room for growth. He was also a good help defender in the paint. Big Z has instances of getting into foul trouble and will need to clean that up to get more playing time. His rebounding numbers are not great either and he will need to get stronger to be a more effective rebounder.

While Zvonimir has a lot of clear upside, it will need to be shown significantly more this year before he can be seen as a first-round caliber prospect. His limited minutes last year can be accredited for several reasons, including his late arrival to the team due to NCAA ineligibility, poor switch defender, and inability to handle a larger workload. At Arkansas, Big Z will be stuck behind First Team All-SEC center Jonas Aidoo, who will take up the majority of center minutes for the Razorbacks. It will be a struggle for him to have substantial playing time this season so he will need to show out during these limited minutes. He has the size and length that in today's NBA, teams are always looking for and has shown promise that he can be a stretch big at the next level. His ability to block shots is very promising and even in his small amount of playing time last year, he was consistently a shot blocker and shot alterer. He has a lot to clean up in his game right now, especially defensively, and he will need to put on more weight at his height to compete with NBA bigs. Teams covet his player archetype however and there will be teams who will want to take a flyer on him. With no stand alone skill to rely on, Ivisic is looked at as a high ceiling low floor type of prospect, which is not super encouraging, given that he just turned 21. Being drafted to a team with a big who has a similar game such as the Bucks or Celtics with

Brook Lopez or Kristaps Porzingis would be greatly beneficial for his development. As he stands currently, I view him as a mid to late second-round pick in this upcoming draft.