Getty Image / Andy Lyons
NIL deals have already created a different landscape for college football, but now it appears basketball is beginning to reap the rewards as well.
Typically, the top prospects overseas remain in their country and play in whatever pro league is there. However, these NIL deals may change that moving forward.
According to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, “Zvonimir Ivisic, one of the top European prospects in his age group, has committed to Kentucky in the class of 2023.”
Ivisic is a 7’2″ center who has been playing incredibly well in Croatia. He’s 20 years old already, which gives him plenty of experience before heading to Kentucky.
Here is a quick snippet of one of his best games in Croatia where he went off. You can easily see he has all of the talent in the world to have a career in the NBA.
Footage from Kentucky commit Zvonimir Ivisic's monster game in a win over Euroleague squad Partizan in the Adriatic League playoffs in May. 22 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks in 24 minutes. Significant talent addition for John Calipari. https://t.co/USEgTvd5nL pic.twitter.com/khLrfQK05n
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) August 1, 2023
With that said, NIL deals aren’t only benefiting Kentucky right now, but the entire nation. Givony also reports that multiple top talent from out of the states are flocking to America to play college basketball.
“This offseason has seen elite international talents like Aday Mara, Berke Buyuktuncel and Jan Vide commit to play at UCLA, while Arizona reeled in the likes of Motiejus Krivas and Paulius Murauskas from Lithuania. It was previously rare for the top prospects in Europe to elect to leave top clubs for college.”
Clearly, the NIL is working and hopefully it leads to more excitement.
With that said, it sure seems like things are trending in the right direction for college basketball. Look for Kentucky, and other teams, to continue to take advantage of the NIL deals to acquire top talent from all over the globe.