Even after his college debut two days ago, Zvonimir Ivisic is still the talk of the town. Following his absence from Kentucky’s first 16 games while he awaited news from the NCAA regarding his eligibility, the rookie forward scored 13 points on Saturday night to assist the No. 6 Wildcats in defeating Georgia 105-96. The assistant coach Chin Coleman and the other members of the Wildcats coaching staff applauded the performance.
To go through this whole process he’s been through and then just to finally have the opportunity to get out on the floor was probably an eruption (on his part),” Coleman said. “He made some shots early, and after that, it was kind of like shooting in an ocean. It’s good for him, (we’re) happy for him, really happy for him.” Georgia coach Mike White was surprised by Ivisic’s outing. “We knew he was very talented and skilled player but to anticipate him coming in and firing from the deep immediately, with the confidence level that he did, was something we did not see coming,” White said.
The addition of Ivisic to the rotation will give Kentucky an added weapon but could mean fewer minutes for other players. Coleman said coach John Calipari will make the right adjustments. “You’ve got to think about it,” he said. “We’ve essentially coached five different teams this season already, right? Coach has done an unbelievable job with the moving pieces – who’s in, who’s out – and figuring it out. He’s the best at it for a reason and so he’ll figure it out.” Kentucky (14-3, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) will play at South Carolina Tuesday night in the first of two road games this week. The Gamecocks (15-3, 3-2) have won nine of their 10 games at home and are coming off a 77-64 win at Arkansas on Saturday.
“They’re playing good right now and I think they have a lot of confidence,” Coleman said. “Winning produces confidence. And the fact that they’re they’re winning, they have a lot of confidence. They’re playing well and they don’t beat themselves.” Moving up Kentucky moved up to No. 6 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday.
Three SEC schools, including the Wildcats, are included in the AP poll’s top 20 this week. While Auburn (16-2) made the biggest jump, moving up five spots and into the top 10 for the first time this season, Tennessee (14-4) is currently rated sixth. The top four teams are UConn (17-2); Purdue (17-2); North Carolina (15-3) and Houston (16-2). Kansas (15-3) fell to No. 7 by four spots. Wagner wins the third Freshman SEC Award. D.J. Wagner, a rookie guard from Kentucky, won the SEC rookie of the Week award three times this year. In victories over Georgia and Mississippi State last week, Wagner averaged 12.5 points and six assists per contest. In the victory over, Wagner recorded his first double-double with 10 assists and 18 points.
