Zvonimir Ivišić

Zvonimir Ivišić (born 9 August 2003), nicknamed "Big Z", is a Croatian college basketball player for the Illinois Fighting Illini of the Big Ten Conference. He formerly played for the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Kentucky Wildcats of the Southeastern Conference.

Early life Ivišić was born in Vitez, Bosnia and Herzegovina and moved to Šibenik, Croatia when he was 14 years old. He played for Studentski centar of the Montenegrin Basketball League and the ABA League from 2020 to 2023. Ivišić declared for the NBA Draft in 2022 and 2023, but ultimately withdrew both times.

College career Kentucky Ivišić committed to play college basketball in the United States for the University of Kentucky. He was not declared eligible to play by the NCAA until halfway into the Wildcats' season. Ivišić made his collegiate debut on January 20, 2024, against Georgia and had 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, three blocks and two steals in 16 minutes played during a 105–96 win. He averaged 5.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks over 15 games played during his freshman season. Ivišić announced he would be entering the NCAA transfer portal shortly after it was reported that Kentucky head coach John Calipari would be leaving the program to become the head coach at Arkansas.

Arkansas Ivišić transferred to play at Arkansas, following Calipari.

Illinois Following his sophomore season, Ivišić transferred to Illinois.

National team career Ivišić was named to the Croatia national under-16 basketball team and played in the 2019 FIBA U16 European Championship. He also played for Croatia in the 2023 FIBA U20 European Championship. He averaged 11.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game.

Career statistics

College

Personal life Zvonimir's twin brother Tomislav Ivišić is also a former professional basketball player with whom he moved to Šibenik in Croatia from his hometown Vitez in Bosnia and Herzegovina when he was 14 to play for Šibenka. They both moved to Podgorica in Montenegro to play for Studentski centar. Tomislav joined the Illini a year before Zvonimir.