Kentucky
Kentucky freshman center Zvonimir Ivišić cleared to play by NCAA
LEXINGTON — The NCAA on Saturday paved the way for Zvonimir Ivišić to take the floor for Kentucky this season.
The NCAA ruled Ivišić, a 7-foot-2 Croatian who played in professional leagues overseas the last few years, still retained his amateur status, meaning he can immediately suit up for the Wildcats. And that debut could come as soon as Saturday’s SEC game versus Georgia at Rupp Arena.
Ivišić announced the news Saturday afternoon on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Hey BBN, guess what? I’m free,” Ivišić said in a video attached to his post. “See y’all tonight at the game. I thank you all for the support.”
Minutes after Ivišić’s post, Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart also posted on X, thanking the university, his department and the NCAA “for working through” the eligibility questions.
Ivišić committed to UK on Aug. 1, becoming the eighth (and final) member of the team’s 2023 recruiting class, which ranked No. 1 nationally according to the 247Sports Composite.
“I got the offer for scholarship by Coach Calipari to attend the University of Kentucky,” Ivišić said in an Instagram Stories post. “I’m excited to tell that I accepted the scholarship and I will play there next season. Go Big Blue!!”
Kentucky coach John Calipari officially announced Ivišić’s signing later that month. Calipari invoked a nickname — “Big Z” — that’s now become the coach’s go-to moniker for his newest player.
“Big Z is a dynamic and modern big who has guard-like skills but can make a major impact around the rim,” Calipari said in a statement. “Defensively, he is an elite shot blocker who moves well for being 7-foot-2 and can impact the game from the outside-in because of his ability to make 3s. As excited as he is to play for us, I’m just as excited to have the opportunity to coach him.
“We can’t wait to get him to campus to get integrated with our team and our culture.”
It took more than two months to finally get Ivišić to campus, however, as the university took its time sorting through his application. He finally was admitted to the university Oct. 4 and arrived in Lexington the next day.
While he didn’t participate in any public preseason event — the Blue-White scrimmage in Highland Heights and exhibitions versus Georgetown College and Kentucky State, respectively — and has sat out all 16 regular-season games so far, Ivišić has practiced with the team since enrolling, though he’s dealt with multiple illnesses. First, food poisoning kept him from attending the exhibition against Kentucky State. Then he missed UK’s record-setting win over Marshall, battling a 104-degree fever, according to Calipari.
What Zvonimir Ivišić addition means for 2023-24 Kentucky basketball roster
First and foremost, Ivišić boosts the Wildcats in an area that now is a strength — but lacked this summer (pick your favorite alliterative descriptor): A bonafide big man. A colossal center. A towering talent in the paint.
Because of Ivišić’s late arrival, and injuries to fellow 7-footers Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso, the Wildcats played senior forward Tre Mitchell (all 6-9 of him) out of position as an undersized 5 since their successful summer in Toronto, where they romped to a 4-0 record and a gold medal at the GLOBL JAM tournament.
Though UK has had no problem simply outscoring its opponents this season — it is leading Division I in points per game (90.8 per outing) entering Saturday — the Wildcats routinely have struggled on the boards facing foes with taller players on the floor.
Ivišić, obviously, will help in that area. He’ll also give Kentucky — despite his height seemingly implying the opposite — another perimeter threat offensively. Ivišić knocked down 43 3-pointers playing for SC Derby in the ABA League — the top league of teams from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia) — the past two seasons.
But where he’ll be an even bigger help — meant literally and figuratively here — is on defense.
The Wildcats have allowed 77 points (or more) in all four conference games they’ve played. At 76.1 points permitted per outing, it far outpaces the previous-worst average by a Calipari-coached squad: the 2016-17 Wildcats gave up 71.5 points a game.
When Bradshaw and Onyenso were still working working their way back from foot ailments that sidelined them to begin the season, opponents got to the basket nearly at will with no rim protector dissuading them from venturing forward. Onyenso has combined to tally nine blocks over the past two games, however, while Bradshaw has rejected at least one shot in six of his nine appearances, tallying two (or more) on two occasions.
Ivišić only can help the Wildcats’ interior defense as another basket deterrant.
While Ivišić is far from a finished product defensively, he’s shown he knows how to use his size to his advantage.
He averaged one block per game for SC Derby last season, which ranked fifth in the ABA.
Even if Ivišić has to work his way into form after missing so much time, he’ll offer the Wildcats a defensive boost from the jump. Anything he can provide beyond that, at least early on, will be a windfall.
‘I’m not changing’: Will John Calipari going all-in on freshmen pay off for UK in 2023-24?
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville celebrated Juneteenth with music, dancing and a parade highlighting Black culture, history and unity.
The Kentucky Black Festival’s Juneteenth Unity Parade brought hundreds of people to west Louisville, with marching bands, dancers, community organizations and families joining together to honor the meaning behind the holiday.
“Seeing the families having a good time seeing everyone dancing, with everything that’s happening in this city and happening in the world, a moment to just take a breath and smile and relax your shoulders is what this is all about,” said Walter Murrah, executive director of the Kentucky Black Foundation.
Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.
For organizers, the celebration is about more than a parade. It’s about recognizing the history that paved the way for future generations.
“Celebrating Juneteenth is more than just dancing and singing. It’s also reaching back and looking at the giants that paved the way for us, but also taking a moment to just celebrate our blackness because I think oftentimes it’s looked down upon, left out, overlooked, and those kind of things,” Murrah said. “And so being Black is beautiful. Being Black is, you know, it should be celebrated, and that’s what Juneteenth is about, is, you know, marrying the history but also looking ahead to what’s in the future.”
Attendees said the event created a space to celebrate their heritage and come together.
“We’re not celebrated enough, so with this being Juneteenth for freedom and unity to come together, this is the day for us to do that,” said Tara Britt.
Community members also emphasized the importance of teaching younger generations about the holiday and its history.
“It’s very important because if we don’t tell them, they won’t know. We have to get educated to educate them because it’s not in the schools right now,” said Shannon Gilbert. “So we get all the knowledge and give it back to them and make sure they’re educated because they’re the future.”
Organizers said the goal is to make sure Juneteenth is not only remembered but experienced through community celebrations like the parade.
Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, but communities across the country have recognized and celebrated the day for decades.
Kentucky
Demetrus Liggins disputes Fayette County board’s claim he resigned, attorneys allege misconduct
LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — The attorneys for Dr. Demetrus Liggins issued a press release Friday alleging the Fayette County Board of Education publicly announced a resignation that never happened, cited the wrong Kentucky statutes to justify placing him on administrative leave, and installed a replacement superintendent without legal authority to do so.
The press release, dated June 19, 2026, gives FCPS a four-day deadline to rescind the administrative leave, withdraw the replacement-superintendent designation, and correct the public record. If the district does not comply, Dr. Liggins’ legal team has reserved the right to pursue contractual, statutory, constitutional, defamation, false-light, civil-rights, and tort claims.
According to the press release, Dr. Liggins proposed discussions toward a possible separation agreement — he did not submit an unconditional resignation. His attorneys allege he expressly corrected the Board’s characterization before the Board acted, yet the Board publicly announced a “resignation notice” anyway.
The press release also notes a striking internal contradiction in the Board’s own June 11 letter: the document’s letterhead continued to identify “Superintendent: Demetrus Liggins, PhD” even while the body of the letter announced an “Acting Superintendent.”
Dr. Liggins’ attorneys argue the Board’s June 11 leave letter cited KRS 160.160 and KRS 160.370 — neither of which, according to counsel, expressly authorizes a board to indefinitely suspend a contracted superintendent, bar him from communicating with district-affiliated persons, exclude him from all school property, and install a substitute officeholder.
Counsel argues the Board deliberately avoided KRS 160.350, the statute that specifically governs superintendent terms, vacancies, acting appointments, and removal for cause, according to the press release.
The press release also invokes Lexington-Fayette’s unique status as Kentucky’s sole urban-county government under KRS Chapter 67A, arguing the Board’s legal framing is further flawed because Fayette County is not governed by the special Chapter 67C school-governance provisions applicable to a consolidated local government such as Louisville–Jefferson County.
Attorney Amos N. Jones issued a direct on-the-record statement in the press release.
“This is not administrative leave in any meaningful sense. They announced a resignation that never happened, displaced the lawful superintendent, installed another superintendent, silenced Dr. Liggins inside his own system, and then hired investigators to determine whether the result already imposed should be imposed. Kentucky law does not allow a school board to manufacture a vacancy, perform a removal first, and search for a justification afterward,” Jones said.
According to the press release, Dr. Liggins’s contract runs through June 30, 2029. His attorneys allege the Board’s actions breach that contract by stripping him of his office, authority, professional standing, and future-career value while continuing to pay his salary. The contract reportedly prohibits reassignment without Dr. Liggins’s express written consent.
The press release notes that any litigation or settlement arising from this dispute could carry significant financial consequences for Fayette County taxpayers.
The press release places individual Board members — not just the institution — on notice of potential personal legal exposure. Attorneys cite what they describe as a false resignation narrative, the alleged creation of a fictitious vacancy, concerted displacement, and a false-light portrayal of Dr. Liggins. The notice also warns Board members that attorneys retained by FCPS may not represent their individual interests and that they should have received Upjohn warnings about privilege and conflicts.
According to the press release, counsel has demanded preservation of all communications, drafts, closed-session materials, media contacts, video records, investigative instructions, succession discussions, and communications with public officials, unions, employees, activists, and outside counsel. The inclusion of “media contacts” and “communications with public officials” in the demand suggests Dr. Liggins’ legal team believes there may be involvement by parties beyond the Board itself.
As of Friday, June 19, 2026, the four-day deadline issued to FCPS is running. If the district does not comply, Dr. Liggins’ legal team has indicated it will pursue legal action.
Summer practice is full underway for the 2026-27 Kentucky men’s basketball squad. And while the on-court teaching is critical to the offseason, what’s happening off the floor is equally as important.
Earlier this week, head coach Mark Pope and the entire team made a trip to the Kentucky Children’s Hospital, where they helped put together Father’s Day goodie bags, built toys, played board games with the kids, and shared laughs all around. Watching Franck Kepnang, Mason Williams, and Jerone Morton smile ear-to-ear while losing in a board game will make your heart full.
This was more than just a quick stop, though. This was about building real relationships and putting smiles on the faces of kids who deserve it. Returning center Malachi Moreno even reconnected with one of his new friends.
“There was a kid I’ve actually kept in touch with for a while. His name’s Jackson,” Moreno said Thursday. “Took some of my teammates in to meet him. I met him at Dance Blue. We’ve been playing Fortnite together. Got his PSN (PlayStation Network) tag and we’re going to play some Fortnite. Me, him, Kam (Williams), and Trent (Noah), we’re gonna play some Fortnite together.
“He’s such a cool kid. I think the guys really took in what it means to be at this brand. We walk in any room, we’re gonna brighten someone’s day. They might not be as fortunate as us but we’re taking time out of our day to go see them, and we’re having fun with it. I just wanted them to realize how much fun these kids are having with us.”
Judging by the video that UK put out on Thursday (which you can watch below) , it sure looks like everyone was having a blast. Some things are bigger than basketball.
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