All Hogs

Hogs' Postseason Hopes Carried by Growing Ozark Legend

Razorbacks' sophomore stretch forward witnesses NBA stock skyrocket due to development of game in recent weeks
Jacob Davis|
Arkansas Razorbacks forward Zvonimir Ivisic battles against the Oklahoma Sooners in the lane at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.
Arkansas Razorbacks forward Zvonimir Ivisic battles against the Oklahoma Sooners in the lane at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

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Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — At the half, Arkansas found itself in a funk reminiscent of the team it was during an 0-5 conference start.

Luckily, its saving grace is set to become an old Ozark Mountain wives tale leading his team back into postseason contention thanks to his evolving game during the Razorbacks’ 70-58 win over LSU. 

Junior forward Zvonimir Ivisic scored 25 points on an efficient 10-of-13 shooting night from the field along with drilling 3-of-5 three point attempts. There’s no other 7-foot-2 forward in the nation capable of doing the things Ivisic is at this point as he’s singlehandedly kept his team in the NCAA Tournament discussion. 

“[Ivisic] has got a hot hand right now,” assistant coach Chin Coleman said Wednesday night. “He’s on a heater. He’s got a good feeling right now. His spirit is a lot better than what it was. So when your mind is right, your game is right.”

Ivisic wasn’t as active on the boards, finishing with three rebounds Wednesday night, but his length drives opponents nuts as he blocked four LSU shots. 

Arkansas’ produced many capable 7-footers over its 100-plus year history. None of them, however, have been as effective offensively as Ivisic who is the only player his size in the modern era of to score multiple 20-point games, according to Hog Stats. 

While he showed himself to be more of an extra-long guard early in the season, coaches have worked with him to become more comfortable in the paint.

“Whatever my team needs me to do, I’ll try my best to do it,” Ivisic said. “As y’all saw, I can’t pick and pop no more, they’re switching me. So I gotta roll, try to work something from the paint.”

Coleman mentioned Ivisic’s progression as a pick-and-pop big has happened throughout the past few practices. Arkansas wants to make his weakness a strength and challenge him to flourish into an all around player.

“A lot of teams will try to do that because when you’re a pick-and-pop big, then you want to take away that strength and make it a weakness by twirling and switching,” Coleman said. “We feel like a lot of teams are going to try to do that, and so we try to work on how to plan against when teams want to twirl on [Ivisic].”

As Ivisic continues to grow into a mismatch nightmare in the SEC, fans may want to brace themselves as he could potentially leave for the NBA Draft after the season. His recent uptick in SEC play is similar to Jaylin Williams' growth in the second half of his sophomore season .

Over the past seven games, Ivisic is averaging 15 points, seven rebounds and over one block in 28 minutes per game. He's been nearly automatic making 53% of his field goal attempts and 48% from three. He's a different kind of player who NBA scouts have fallen in love with recently because of the success of San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama, Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren and Cleveland's Evan Mobley among others.

HOGS FEED:

• Arkansas overcomes slow start, beats LSU inside Bud Walton

• Diamond Hogs Offering Loyal Fans Valentine's Day Present

• Arkansas opening weekend schedule changed; first pitch moved up

• Ivisic's emergence 'unbelievable;' need more from other bigs

• Greatest game in Hogs-LSU series pitted Shaq vs. Arkansas' May-Day

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Jacob Davis
JACOB DAVIS

Jacob Davis is a reporter for Arkansas Razorbacks on SI, with a decade of experience covering high school and transfer portal recruiting. He has previously worked at Rivals, Saturday Down South, SB Nation and hosted podcasts with Bleav Podcast Network where his show was a finalist for podcast of the year. Native of El Dorado, he currently resides in Central Arkansas with his wife and daughter.

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