Mark Pope likes that Andrija Jelavic will be a veteran rookie. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky coach Mark Pope said he had a “beautiful” conversation with Croatian forward Andrija Jelavic when he started recruiting him before he signed with UK.
“He loves the game of basketball. He loves to hoop. He wants to hoop all the time. He’s with a really good organization. He knows Kentucky. The more and more this became real, the more emotional he got,” Pope said at his press conference earlier this spring.
“Like all of us, the opportunity to be associated with Kentucky basketball is a little bit beyond his wildest dreams. He was pretty emotional about the whole process.”
During an interview with Michelle Knezovic of the UK Sports Network, Pope elaborated even more on the future Cat.
“He’s been playing at a very high level in Europe (on a professional team). He’s done an amazing job. He’s a 6-10 forward that can shoot it, handle it, can be a decision maker, could push the ball in transition,” Pope told Knezovic.
“He’s going to be a veteran rookie for us. We expect huge things for him. I’ll never forget when I FaceTimed him, the tears coming in his eyes thinking about the University of Kentucky.”
The question is when will Jelavic arrive on campus. His professional season is over but he is not yet in Lexington. Pope said in mid-May said that the NCAA was “working hard” to push through his eligibility
Pope said it has been “kind of weird” getting Jelavich here with the governmental hold on I-20 student visas that an international student needs to enroll in an accredited college or university.
“I think he’s got a chance to be really good for us when we get him here,” Pope said. “I think he is a great kid and he’s dying to be here. He’s been playing against grown men in a developmental program and fared well. Certainly there’s going to be an adjustment coming to the States, but I think he’s on the upside of that curve.”
21 Responses
IS this gonna be a long drag out issue that the NCAA always does to UK?
hope you are wrong Cats79 but worry you are right
With the Orange Man Dictator not allowing foreign student visas Jelavic will probably never play for the Cats.
Blah Blah Blah!!! Libtards still butt hurt!! You fools keep trying to usurp the will of the people!! Just go get a job and shut up!
It’s low IQ inbred people like you that put a communist loving traitor in office. Don’t miss your next Qanon meeting. You’ll have to work for your medicaid now because your Dictator says so. Now get on your knees and kiss your Kings feet.
Amen you are so right
It’ll mean more playing time for Trent Noah, Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson.
Hopefully they get this resolved soon. The kid needs to be here to get his practice reps. Don’t need another Big Z situation.
Biden was in control when Big Z couldn’t get in. Correction. He wasn’t in control because he was getting lost IN HIS CLOSET.
Big Z’s problem was that he wasn’t a human trafficker, fentanyl smuggler or just a monster in general.
Biden was not the problem with Big Z. The NCAA was. Trump is the problem this time because of blocking foreign student visas. Politics aside, everyone needs to follow facts, not political agendas .
Haha good one!
He was a 7 foot PISTOL PETE
Really????
He was on January 21st 2024 when we played Georgia in Rupp Arena.
My bad. January 20th
There will probably never be another pistol Pete. The cats will be very close to winning 9 this year. Jelavic will be a competitive player that will definitely give UK an opportunity to win it all. This schedule will be hard for UK to go undefeated but this team has the potential to be close to it. I only see them losing mabe three games if they stay healthy. But if we were to beat loserville it would be a winning season lol. GO CATS
Can we not keep the talk about BIden or politics out of this discussion?
How about we leave the Orange man out of it?
Where were you when Kelly Craft was called a piece of trash on here?
Good call! We are talking about our Wildcats! Talk about them. We have AL9T to be excited about. Enjoy it.
Who the hell is Kelly craft ?
Umm, bug z couldn’t play because of the NCAA not because of immigration issues. Thus the billboard in Indianapolis saying Free Big Z.
This player, along with other throughout the country can’t get in because of the new immigration rules, not NCAA rules.