Ivisic Brothers On Opposite Teams For First Time in Arkansas, Illinois Game

Twins have different recollections of backyard basketball in Croatia

Zvonimir Ivisic on the court against Maryland Eastern Shore. The Razorbacks won 109-35. / Nilsen Roman - Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas center Zvonimir Ivišić will share a basketball court with his twin brother Tomislav Ivišić again Thursday, but for the first time, they won't be on the same team.

Tomislav, who plays for Illinois, is the younger twin by four minutes. He remembers playing in the backyard growing up in Vodice, Croatia, a small coastal town, against his brother.

"We did that a lot of times," Tomislav said. "Sometimes he wins, sometimes I win. If you ask me I'm better, if you ask him he's better. We're all going to see tomorrow "

Zvonimir remembers those backyard clashes slightly differently.

"I was beating his ass every time," Zvonimir said.

Twin trash talk aside, there's a deep level of respect the brothers have for each other when they talk about one another. Zvonimir started his career at Kentucky with coach John Calipari, but was not cleared to play until February because of eligibility concerns. Tomislav faced the same issues, but was cleared before the season started.

"I wouldn’t wish anybody to go through that stuff that I did," Zvonimir said. "He was cleared quickly, which is a great thing. I was pretty happy about him."

Seeing the process eventually go through is what convinced Tomislav to follow in his brother's footsteps and make the jump to the states.

"Last year was tough for him [Zvonimir]," Tomislav said. "He wasn't able to play and that kind of gave me doubts about coming here, but at the end everything came together and he transferred to Arkansas with his coach {John Calipari} and I decided to come here [to Illinois]. That helped me a lot."

The two brothers are both off to good starts for their respective teams. Tomislav averages 15.5 points and 8.7 rebounds, while Zvonimir averages 12 points and four rebounds, shooting 57% from beyond the arc in the early part of the season.

Illinois Fighting Illini center Tomislav Ivisic (13) dunks the ball during the second half against the Little Rock Trojans at State Farm Center. / Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

The two brothers have different play styles, with Tomislav getting most of his production inside, while Zvonimir plays on the perimeter more often. There are other differences too, Tomislav lobbed one last friendly jab at his brother before the game.

"I'm more [an] introvert," Tomislav said. "He's [more an] extrovert. He is more social, he's funnier. He's crazy."

The game tips off 3 p.m. Thursday from Kansas City Mo. and will be broadcast on CBS.

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