Kentucky’s Zvonimir Ivisic is back with the team. ‘They just need to free my guy.’

Zvonimir Ivisic is, finally, back with the Kentucky men’s basketball team.

After UK head coach John Calipari gave the go-ahead, Ivisic — a 7-foot-2 freshman center from Croatia who is still waiting for a ruling from the NCAA concerning his college eligibility — went home to Europe to spend the holiday break with his family.

Ivisic departed for home following Kentucky’s rivalry win over Louisville on Dec. 21, but he didn’t return to Lexington before Kentucky’s next and most recent game, a blowout home win over Illinois State last Friday night.

But Ivisic returned to Lexington earlier this week and is back with the UK team ahead of Saturday afternoon’s SEC opener at Florida.

“It’s definitely nice to have him in the gym — have his personality back around,” veteran forward Tre Mitchell said Friday morning before the trip to Gainesville. “Definitely nice to have some more height out there on the court. Another skilled player. A guy that can do a little bit of everything. He’s getting back acclimated to everything we’re doing.

“But they just need to free my guy, man. They just need to let him loose.”

Mitchell said Ivisic has kept a positive attitude amid the uncertainty around his playing status.

“You can tell — the way he carries himself — you know, he always has a pretty positive mindset, a pretty positive attitude,” he said. “So that’s something he already has. But there are moments where you can see it in dudes’ faces, and the way that they approach things — and it’s just a little reminder that you never know when that call might come through.”

During his weekly radio show Monday night, Calipari addressed Ivisic’s absence from the team and stressed the desire Ivisic has to suit up for the Wildcats.

“He’s dying to get back. He wants to play for this university and these fans in the worst way,” Calipari said. “He went back and told everybody, ‘I’ve never been coached this way. I’ve never been challenged this way. I love the environment, the fans.’ He just wants to play.”

“Hopefully this kid plays sooner than later,” Calipari said later in Monday’s show.

Calipari said during the radio show Ivisic was expected to rejoin the Wildcats before No. 6-ranked UK begins SEC play on Saturday at Florida, and this held true.

As the new year begins, there’s no additional clarity as to when Ivisic may receive clearance from the NCAA to appear in a game for the Wildcats.

Ivisic committed to Kentucky on Aug. 1, but his initial arrival in Lexington was delayed by the university’s admissions process.

Ivisic was finally cleared as a UK student in early October and first stepped foot on campus Oct. 12, the day before Big Blue Madness. While he enrolled in time to take “part-of-term” courses — an academic path that would have allowed him to be eligible to play during the fall semester — his college basketball debut has been delayed by the NCAA’s eligibility process.

Since Ivisic played for a professional team in Europe, his past there — and any potential compensation received while competing — has been scrutinized. So far, the NCAA has not issued a ruling on his playing status.

The 20-year-old Ivisic has been practicing with the Wildcats after receiving a waiver from the NCAA to do so, but he has not been permitted to appear in any of Kentucky’s games.

Last month, Ivisic took to social media to explain that he’d spoken to Calipari about his future with the program amid his ongoing eligibility process with the NCAA.

“I met with Coach Cal and discussed going home for the holidays,” Ivisic said in a social media post on Dec. 20. “My family and I worked really hard to gain admission to Kentucky, which took quite a while. With the ups and downs of this process, it’s been a stressful and emotional time for me and my family, but I can tell all of BBN that I’ve done everything I can.

“I’ve obtained a 3.25 GPA. I love this school. I love my teammates and going against other great players every day in practice. I love being coached and challenged and I’m hoping to hear that I can play soon. Go BBN!!”

During Monday night’s radio show, Calipari again discussed how much all of this has weighed on Ivisic. Calipari has repeatedly said Ivisic has lost weight and had difficulty eating and sleeping while in Lexington.

“This stuff has gotten to him,” Calipari said.

Saturday

No. 6 Kentucky at Florida

When: 12:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN

Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1

Records: Kentucky 10-2 (0-0 SEC), Florida 10-3 (0-0)

Series: Kentucky leads 109-41

Last meeting: Kentucky won 82-74 on Feb. 22, 2023, in Gainesville