Kentucky assistant coach Chin Coleman believes that every good team has an X factor who can “completely change the direction of a game” at any given moment
For Kentucky, it might be more of a Z factor with the way freshman Zvonimir Ivisic has started to play more consistently. The 7-2 Croatian had to wait two extra months to be admitted at Kentucky and then spent close to three more months waiting to be cleared by the NCAA to play.
“Z could have a huge impact beyond SEC play. SEC play is brutal and really physical. I think once we get outside of our conference (and in the NCAA Tournament) we will pay different teams with different styles and I think Z will be able to take advantage of that,” Coleman said.
The 225-pound Ivisic has been bullied at times by older, stronger SEC players but in the last two weeks has tried to play more physically and it has paid off. He had 18 points, five rebounds and four blocks against Alabama in 18 minutes. He played 21 minutes in the win at Mississippi State and had two points, four rebounds and three blocks. He came back against Arkansas with 12 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and one steal in 19 minutes.
“Z is giving them good minutes and making it more difficult take him off the floor,” UK Radio Network analyst Jack Givens said. “He needs to be more aggressive on offense. He knows if makes a play to hurt the team he might have to come out, so I understand some hesitation on his part. But if he gets 20 minutes a game he will have some big games.”
Kentucky coach John Calipari has seen his improvement but continues to stress the need to improve on defense. Against Mississippi State Calipari said he “got thrown to the floor three times” but fought and did block shots.
“The best thing is, if (Ivisic) rolls to the rim, he is big. He catches and reacts quickly. You can throw it to him and he can make the right play,” Calipari said.
Ivisic is UK’s most skilled center. He can handle the ball. He can knock down 3-pointers. He can block
shots. He can make pinpoint, quick passes."He's just got a good natural feel for the game," freshman guard D.J. Wagner said. "Sometimes he might pass the ball, and you might not even know it's coming, but you're gonna be open."
Wagner knows Calipari has been “preaching” to all the players to play more physical on defense but has especially preached that to Ivisic.
“We've got to play a little bit more physically and that's going to help us win more games. So that's what he's been doing. He's been playing more physical. He's been following his defensive principles and it's been showing,” Wagner said.
Ivisic knows his limitations and understood when Calipari told him if he played better defense, he would play. If not, he would not play often. Ivisic has tried to use better technique but also knows more than anything he has to “put more effort” into defense.
“Coach Cal said we can score 200 (points) but if we do not play defense we would lose anyway,” Ivisic said.
Ivisic is a perfect teammate. He understands Ugonna Onyenso or Aaron Bradshaw are playing better, they will play instead of him.
"We just cheer for each other. Doesn't matter who's in. Of course, we all want to play, but it is what it is,” Ivisic said. “If I don’t play, I really enjoy watching them play. There is so much talent on this team.”
Yet the wild card in postseason play could be Ivisic because of his unique skill set.
“Big Z gives them a chance in the NCAA Tournament. He has the best basketball IQ, best size and best skill of all the bigs. He could be the one to carry them,” CBS-TV analyst Clark Kellogg said after UK beat Arkansas.
“He is the unicorn,” Seth Davis, another CBS Sports voice, said. “He is the one who can separate them. He doesn’t have to be great. He just needs to be good.”
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Until Kayla Kowalik got to Kentucky and became the program’s all-time leaders in hits and runs scored, coach Rachel Lawson always thought Molly Johnson-Belcher was the best player ever at UK.
“Then Kowalik came around and you could arm wrestle to figure out who the greatest player was,” Lawson said.
Johnson-Belcher, UK’s first All-American, was named UK’s 2024 Southeastern Conference Women’s Legend this year. She played at UK from 2007-10 and was part of UK’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2009. She left UK as its all-time hits leader and still ranks inside the top 10 at UK in hits, batting average, runs scored, doubles, home runs, at bats, slugging percentage, total bases, stolen bases and fielding percentage.
“I think she by far was the greatest player to play for such a long time and she could do so many different things and with the help of her teammates she really put Kentucky softball on the map,” Lawson said about her former shortstop.
Johnson-Belcher is in her 14th season as Lawson’s assistant at UK. She coaches first base and oversees the UK outfield development.
Johnson-Belcher said it was “kind of a shock” when she found out she was this year’s Legend.
“Having played here it is even cooler to see where this program has gone from the time I played here until now,” the UK assistant coach said. “I think it is a domino effect, so if I am the first one (from UK softball to be named a Legend) over the coming years we will see plenty of other players (also honored).”
Johnson-Belcher thanked her teammates noting “if I don’t have great teammates this does not happen.”
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Linebacker Jaden Smith of Charlotte is a unique four-star prospect who signed with national champion Michigan, changed his mind after half the coaching staff left for the NFL and signed with Kentucky last month.
The 6-3, 205-pound Smith has “muscles galore” and pound-for-pound is one of the strongest players West Charlotte High School coach Sam Greiner has ever had. However, Greiner is proud of his star player for more than just his athletic feats even though he had 91 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, 14 quarterback hurries, 13 pass breakups, three blocked punts, two blocked field goals, two fumble recoveries, one interception and two defensive touchdowns last season.
“Next year’s college freshmen class had a difficult time academically because their first year of high school was the COVID year. Everything was online. They were not getting personal relationships with teachers a lot of that year. A lot of schools didn’t even require a 2.0 GPA to play because of COVID. You just had to pass the class,” Greiner said.
“They might also have had to watch over younger siblings while the parents were working. To ask a kid to get on Zoom and at the same time watch his brothers and sisters while he’s trying to learn is almost impossible.”
That led to low grade-point averages for some athletes, including Smith.
“He had some academic work to do and he got a 3.5 and 4.0 (GPA) the last two semesters to pull up his GPA,” Greiner said. “He got tutoring and took ownership of his situation. He had a low GPA but I am so proud of what he has done academically his junior and senior years.
“He didn’t complain. He went in hard on his academics. That’s why he stayed through the spring (semester) to make sure his GPA meets NCAA requirements. Not everybody had a great situation where they could just get on Zoom and only do school work.
“That attitude and work ethic to raise his GPA is exactly like the dedication he has to make himself a better player. He’s a very unique talent and a great fit for the Kentucky defense.”
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Former Kentucky All-American Jack Givens sounded like a proud father after freshman Justin Edwards scored 28 points on perfect 10-for-10 shooting in a win over Alabama.
“He is finally coming along at the rate we all thought he would. I like the fact he was active and fought for rebounds. He didn’t settle for jump shots,” Givens said. “A lot of good things from Justin in this game. One of those games he can grow from and nobody has worked harder to make it happen.”
Kentucky assistant coach Chin Coleman said the “tireless” work Edwards put in the last few months was obvious to everyone on the team.
“He is in here late at night putting in work. It was just a matter of time before he had a breakout and it came at the right time,” Coleman said. “I am happy for a kid like that who was able to take the good with the bad.
“He gets down but never lets it hold him down. He relied on his training and drew confidence from all the work he put in.”
Edwards, like a lot of highly-recruited UK freshmen, came into college with huge expectations put on him by recruiting analysts, fans and media.
“I am sure it was kind of troublesome for him to try and live up to that and hear all the noise. Hear from all the writers and all that stuff,” Coleman said. “You just have to keep your poise.
“We keep talking to our guys about feeding the positive and drowning out the negative. As long as you keep the positive voice at the podium you can have a breakthrough like that.”
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Landry Collett’s first quarterback at Leslie County High School was Greg Couch, the older brother of former University of Kentucky star Tim Couch.
“Greg was first-team all-state and played at Eastern Kentucky,” Collett said. “I basically lived with the Couch family growing up. We played ball all the time. Tim was two years younger than me but you could tell he was special.”
Collett remembers the first time he believed Tim Couch, who recently was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, was extra special.
“There was a telephone pole at the end of the year and if you did not hit the pole with the ball when you were throwing it the ball would go into the highway,” Collett recalled. “One day Tim at 12 years old was nailing that pole every time from about 30 yards away. I got Greg and told him he had to see what Tim was doing. I knew then this kid would be a freak.”
Collett’s senior year at Leslie County was Tim Couch’s freshman season. WYMT-TV did a preseason interview with Collett and asked him if he thought Tim was better than Greg. Collett immediately said yes.
“They asked if I meant as a freshman he would be better and again I said yes 100 percent,” Collett said. “I explained it was because he was so accurate and had a very, very good arm.”
After the interview aired, Collett got a call from Greg Couch asking if he really thought Tim was better or just said that for the interview.
“I told him, ‘Yeah I do Greg,’” Collett said. “Greg was competitive and an absolute stud but there was just something different about Tim even then.”
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Quote of the Week: “Cassidy Rowe and Emma King just continue to play with great pride, that’s why you love those kids. They are willing to sacrifice their body, which is tough to do day in and day out and is something I am extremely proud of them for. They are going to give you all that they have,” Kentucky coach Kyra Elzy after UK’s 30-point loss to Ole Miss.
Quote of the Week 2: “He is coaching with his gut. He has three draft picks coming off the bench and knows he has something special. I would hate to see Kentucky in my bracket as a one seed when that (NCAA Tournament) bracket is released. That talent level is undeniable and they are getting better at the right time of the year,” ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg on John Calipari’s talent at UK.
Quote of the Week 3: “We need him. He is like a traffic cop out there. He is also a secondary ball handler that we can play through because we trust him to make the right decisions. We need him,” Kentucky assistant coach Chin Coleman on center Tre Mitchell.
