Had Zvonimir Ivisic's first two college basketball games been reversed, nobody would have been surprised. The 7-foot-2 Kentucky freshman from Croatia took the sport by storm on Saturday, putting forth one of the more remarkable debuts we've witnessed all season.
After sitting out the first 16 games, Ivisic was suddenly cleared to play against Georgia five hours before tipoff.
His first five minutes in the first half were something out of a movie: 11 points, 3-for-3 from 3, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Kentucky was +22 with him on the floor. Ivisic ultimately finished with 13 points, five boards, two assists, three blocks and two steals in 16 minutes off the bench.
His follow-up performance against South Carolina on Tuesday was not nearly as impactful -- though the same could be said for most of Kentucky's roster in the 79-62 loss to the Gamecocks. Ivisic finished with three points on 1-for-3 shooting, grabbing a pair of rebounds and blocking two shots.
So what should we expect from Kentucky's new arrival? Is he closer to the Kristaps Porzingis clone we saw Saturday, or the freshman we saw Tuesday who might take time to adapt to the college game?
Most likely, he's something in between. Just to be sure, we reached out to NBA scouts and SEC coaches for their early thoughts.
First impressions: 'He's really gifted offensively'
College basketball fans weren't the only ones eager to see what Ivisic was going to bring to the table on Saturday. Other SEC coaches found out the news when Kentucky announced it, at the same time as the general public. And, outside of the occasional Synergy viewing or YouTube clip, most of them had never watched Ivisic.
So, unsurprisingly, the first impressions were positive.
"For us, the size stuck out," one SEC coach said. "His length, and he's so tremendously skilled. You watch him in that game, he not only buries the shots, he looks really, really good. He affects the game as a rim protector, he makes that behind-the-back pass, he was even leading the break. You could tell his skill level was really high."
"He can really shoot it," another said. "Just from one game, you can tell he has a high basketball IQ. That behind-the-back pass tells you that. He's really gifted offensively. Passing, shooting. He can block shots. As a guard, you're not going to be able to go in there and lay it up on him."