Illini Basketball 2025-2026

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#101      
NarrowJ
#104      
JJB
"
How do you feel about the Illini? Do you feel they have a Final Four-caliber lineup? — Jeremy B.

I’m going to wait to see it before I go that far, but it’s promising. This is the furthest anyone has leaned into building a roster through international imports. UCLA’s 2023-24 team would be the next closest, but Mick Cronin ended up leaning way more on his American guys on that roster. Brad Underwood doesn’t really have that choice. This team is built for his international players to be the stars.

Mihailo Petrovic is the key. He’s 22 and an MVP candidate in the Adriatic League. One buddy familiar with that league told me his one concern is Petrovic is a burner and his speed is a real advantage in that league and might not be as much of one in the college game. But it’s a good league, and you have to be a real player to be an MVP candidate. To give you an idea of the level of competition, the leading scorer for the team above Petrovic’s in the standings (KK SC Derby) is Rasir Bolton, who averaged 10.1 points per game for Gonzaga in 2022-23 on a team that made the Elite Eight. Illinois’ Tomislav Ivisic played for Derby in 2023-24 and averaged 7.1 points per game in his final season. David Mirkovic, who was his teammate and was just signed by Illinois, is averaging 8.9 points this year. Ivisic just averaged 13.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in his first year at Illinois. These are real players who translate.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6342953/2025/05/09/college-basketball-sec-big-east-illinois/
 
#105      
ColSLU69
Center: I think that Illinois is set at this position with Tomislav Ivisic and Zvonimir Ivisic. They both need to improve their strength and work on getting better on defense. But not many teams have two athletic 7-footers who shoot so well, including 3-pointers.

Power Forward: I look at David Mirkovic, Ben Humrichous, and Jason Jakstys as our PFs. (With Ty Rodgers as a possibility to play some small-ball-PF.) That is potentially a solid group. But that brings me to my KEY #1 for the upcoming season: Mirkovic needs to be good right away, and ready to play a lot of quality minutes at PF. That means his footwork and quickness need to allow him to adequately defend talented 4s, i.e. TKR of Purdue. He will also need to show that he can make open 3s, get his shot off in the paint, and be a solid rebounder. Mirkovic playing 20-25 solid minutes per game will be very important to the 25-26 Illini.

Small Forward: Andrej Stojakovic will start at this position, and he could/should be a star player, the alpha, for the Illini. I would consider Jake Davis to be the backup at SF. His 3-point shooting was solid last season; I think it might be even better this coming season. Jake also showed a knack for getting offensive rebounds. And he works hard on defense, showing good physicality. There's a chance that he will play even better this season. (Ty Rodgers should also play minutes at the SF position this season.)

Shooting Guard: Illinois will start 6'2" Kylan Boswell at SG, although he's actually more of a Combo Guard. But Kylan has shown that he can defend taller guards/wings very well. And his offense was much better in the last month of this past season. I hope that he can play at that level again, or hopefully improve on that, including a better 3-point percentage, in the 25-26 season. Here's my KEY #2 for the upcoming season: I'm hoping that Freshman Guard Brandon Lee can step up early and provide quality minutes as a backup SG. This is the one position that I think the Illini roster is lacking in, especially regarding depth. Brandon's father, Butch Lee, was a very tough player in his day; a dawg so to speak. I hope that Brandon can bring that same toughness, that same effort, and some buckets to the Illini this coming season as a SG. (I'm hoping that Ty Rodgers has improved his shooting enough to also provide quality minutes at SG.)

Point Guard: Mihailo Petrovic will start at this position. He may not average as many points as KJ did, but he should provide as many (or more) assists than KJ. Petrovic should be very good in the pick-and-roll for this offense, and I expect him to have less careless turnovers than KJ. But Petrovic must somehow show the ability to defend at a high level in order to really excel for the Illini this coming season. I believe that Kylan Boswell will, in effect, be the backup PG for the Illini in 25-26.

My KEY #3 is Ty Rodgers. I'm hoping that his shooting has improved enough to allow him to play quality minutes at PG, SG, SF, and PF as needed. I'd like to see Ty get a LOT of minutes of playing time at all four positions. When I mention improved shooting, I'm not even talking about 3s. I'd like to see him improve on finishing at the hoop, improve his FT percentage, and be able to consistently make 12–15-foot jumpers. That improved shooting, when added to his rebounding, passing, defense, and effort plays, would make Ty a crucial part of the Illini in 25-26.
 
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#106      
jjv0004
This will be Nate Oats worst team at Bama so that will probably be a win against Alabama.
 
#107      
illiniwil
ptgrd23 said:
I think Andrej is NBA bound at end of season. If Keaton shows same improvement as Will he could be starter for us in 2026-27 a SF or 2G.

Downside of getting OLD is we will be losing a lot if not most of our team to graduation.

Need a blend of HS recruits who stay - hopefully Keaton and Brandon fall into that category. I
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i dont think anybody thinks that way anymore, least of all BU. just go out a reload...
 
#108      
Fighter of the Nightman
Dan said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1920629988253991196

fightingillini.com

Illinois to Play Alabama Nov. 19 at United Center - University of Illinois Athletics

Ticket sales information will be announced when available.
fightingillini.com fightingillini.com
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So glad this game is back and I am cautiously optimistic it will still draw really well ... but as others have said, this is such a disappointing time. They could have even done it the very next Wednesday and had it be a "Blackout Wednesday" event for so many in the Chicago Area, the night before Thanksgiving. The real slap in the face is that Duke and Arkansas are playing on Thanksgiving at the United Center - the exact thing I longed for in another thread to become an annual tradition* for us. While Duke will always be a massive (and arguably irreplaceable) draw, Alabama/Illinois is quite the enticing matchup in its own right given recent history, plus you have the local draw of Illinois' return to the UC. With that said, I will be there and I am excited!!

* I am once again putting in a plug for something I see as such a no-brainer for our program - hosting an annual Thanksgiving Day game at the United Center. I think teams would absolutely LEAP at this opportunity given the exposure our game vs. Arkansas had last year (the highest rated regular season college hoops game in nearly 20 years). With a few years of success under its belt, this setup would sell itself. In years where the Bears play on Thanksgiving, we could sell "premium" tickets that include early entry for a Bears watch party on the big screen at the UC. It would become an absolutely can't-miss party on an annual basis, and there would quite literally cease to be a season where the Illini aren't in one of the top 5 most viewed college hoops games of the year ... that is the type of exposure and hype that simply cannot be measured, IMO.

I am no scheduling guru or anything, but I have to imagine you could stagger things pretty well over a 4-year period or so to have that annual UC game, a marquee non-conference game in Champaign for the hometown fans and the respective two return games at both an away-neutral and away venue. A spitball example for the next four years, with the caveat that our game in Birmingham never happened last year and the UC would be the beginning of that series:

2025-26
UC: vs. Alabama on Thanksgiving Day (start of 4-year series)
Home: vs. Iowa State in early December (start of 2-year series)
Return Neutral: N/A
Return Away: N/A (going to be an "off year" to get this going)

2026-27
UC: vs. Kansas on Thanksgiving Day (start of 4-year series)
Home: vs. UConn in early November (start of 4-year series)
Return Neutral: vs. Alabama in Birmingham, AL
Return Away: at Iowa State in early December (ends series)

2027-28
UC: vs. Kentucky on Thanksgiving Day (start of 4-year series)
Home: vs. Alabama in early December
Return Neutral: vs. Kansas (Kansas City, MO)
Return Away: at UConn in early November

2028-29
UC: vs. UConn on Thanksgiving Day
Home: vs. Kansas in early December
Return Neutral: vs. Kentucky in Indianapolis, IN (amazing troll of Indiana to have these two teams playing in Indy!)
Return Away: at Alabama in early November (ends series)

2028-29
UC: vs. Florida (start of 4-year series, with return games in Orlando/Tampa/Miami and Gainesville)
Home: vs. Kentucky (one game left next year in Lexington)
Return Neutral: vs. UConn in New York, NY at MSG (ends series)
Return Away: at Kansas in early December (ends series)

Would we "give up a home game"? Yes, and we did that for 20+ years and it worked out fine ... and that was before we had 10 guaranteed home Big Ten games, as well. Would our non-conference schedule always be completely loaded? Yes, and that would be awesome...
 
#109      
ptgrd23
Wow - I like the marquee games.

Still shell shocked after UCONN destroyed us in Elite 8 and Duke crushed us at MSG.

Hopefully Brad learned from both experiences.

It looks like the consistent Top 5 during NIL period (barring retirements) are Duke, Houston, Auburn, KY, AZ, and maybe FL. Former powers that are struggling or - KS, Gonzaga, NC, MSU.

I like marquee games instead of cupcakes in preseason so I hope Brad keeps it up. See you at UC for Bama.
 
#110      
splitter
808ILLINIFAN said:
Total speculation:
- Kansas in KC (Since 2021, KU has played in KC every other year and BU seems to enjoy playing in KC), return game in Chicago in 2026.
- Home and home w/Louisville (ACC moving down to 18 conference games will open additional non con options; Louisville is not committed to a preseason tourney)
- Neutral site w/UConn at MSG (Brad likes MSG and gives east coast alumni opportunity to support team)

That leaves us with:
KU in KC
Alabama in Chicago
Louisville at home
UConn at MSG
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Like the home and home alternate years with Louisville or neutral site (Indianapolis) with them or Kentucky. Need a border battle across the Ohio like the one across the Mississippi.
 
#111      
IlliniwekKDR
splitter said:
Like the home and home alternate years with Louisville or neutral site (Indianapolis) with them or Kentucky. Need a border battle across the Ohio like the one across the Mississippi.
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I've heard the suggestion on this site before to do a neutral site in Indy with Kentucky just to irritate Indiana fans, which is a delicious idea
 
#115      
IlliniKat91
illiniguy24 said:
Wasn’t sure but this seemed like the most appropriate thread for this random hypothetical

What would your scenario be for Illinois here?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1920865769870508206

I’m taking Illini vs Miznoz, Loosiers vs Purdont, Squakeyes vs Iowa State, and I can’t decide on the fourth pair…Drake Vs Northwestern? Loyola Chicago? Butler? Indiana State?
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My only complaint is that OSU/Dayton in the first round feels like a cakewalk.

Illinois-Missouri-Iowa wouldn't be terrible for us. Illinois vs. Northwestern, Iowa vs. Iowa State, Missouri vs. Missouri State, and then maybe SLU vs. Drake? Or DePaul vs. Loyola if they were ever on the same level at the same time
 
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#116      
Brosky
ColSLU69 said:
Center: I think that Illinois is set at this position with Tomislav Ivisic and Zvonimir Ivisic. They both need to improve their strength and work on getting better on defense. But not many teams have two athletic 7-footers who shoot so well, including 3-pointers.

Power Forward: I look at David Mirkovic, Ben Humrichous, and Jason Jakstys as our PFs. (With Ty Rodgers as a possibility to play some small-ball-PF.) That is potentially a solid group. But that brings me to my KEY #1 for the upcoming season: Mirkovic needs to be good right away, and ready to play a lot of quality minutes at PF. That means his footwork and quickness need to allow him to adequately defend talented 4s, i.e. TKR of Purdue. He will also need to show that he can make open 3s, get his shot off in the paint, and be a solid rebounder. Mirkovic playing 20-25 solid minutes per game will be very important to the 25-26 Illini.

Small Forward: Andrej Stojakovic will start at this position, and he could/should be a star player, the alpha, for the Illini. I would consider Jake Davis to be the backup at SF. His 3-point shooting was solid last season; I think it might be even better this coming season. Jake also showed a knack for getting offensive rebounds. And he works hard on defense, showing good physicality. There's a chance that he will play even better this season. (Ty Rodgers should also play minutes at the SF position this season.)

Shooting Guard: Illinois will start 6'2" Kylan Boswell at SG, although he's actually more of a Combo Guard. But Kylan has shown that he can defend taller guards/wings very well. And his offense was much better in the last month of this past season. I hope that he can play at that level again, or hopefully improve on that, including a better 3-point percentage, in the 25-26 season. Here's my KEY #2 for the upcoming season: I'm hoping that Freshman Guard Brandon Lee can step up early and provide quality minutes as a backup SG. This is the one position that I think the Illini roster is lacking in, especially regarding depth. Brandon's father, Butch Lee, was a very tough player in his day; a dawg so to speak. I hope that Brandon can bring that same toughness, that same effort, and some buckets to the Illini this coming season as a SG. (I'm hoping that Ty Rodgers has improved his shooting enough to also provide quality minutes at SG.)

Point Guard: Mihailo Petrovic will start at this position. He may not average as many points as KJ did, but he should provide as many (or more) assists than KJ. Petrovic should be very good in the pick-and-roll for this offense, and I expect him to have less careless turnovers than KJ. But Petrovic must somehow show the ability to defend at a high level in order to really excel for the Illini this coming season. I believe that Kylan Boswell will, in effect, be the backup PG for the Illini in 25-26.

My KEY #3 is Ty Rodgers. I'm hoping that his shooting has improved enough to allow him to play quality minutes at PG, SG, SF, and PF as needed. I'd like to see Ty get a LOT of minutes of playing time at all four positions. When I mention improved shooting, I'm not even talking about 3s. I'd like to see him improve on finishing at the hoop, improve his FT percentage, and be able to consistently make 12–15-foot jumpers. That improved shooting, when added to his rebounding, passing, defense, and effort plays, would make Ty a crucial part of the Illini in 25-26.
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I like most of this, but your expectation for Rodgers are probably wishful thinking.
 
#117      
blackdog
IlliniKat91 said:
My only complaint is that OSU/Dayton in the first round feels like a cakewalk.

Illinois-Missouri-Iowa wouldn't be terrible for us. Illinois vs. Northwestern, Iowa vs. Iowa State, Missouri vs. Missouri State, and then maybe SLU vs. Drake? Or DePaul vs. Loyola if they were ever on the same level at the same time
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This isn't college football, Dayton has been to the NCAA tournament and won a game more recently than OSU. They would have been a #1 seed in the COVID shutdown year and are generally a respectable team.
 
#119      
Combo
BWA said:
Dude is a 4th year player who has been working and improving his game for 1.5 years since we last saw him. Hes a dog. He was starting on an elite 8 team.

I think he can be that guy
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If he somehow is capable of making jumpers from 5-15 feet, it would be huge for this team. As the original poster said, forget 3 pointers, just be a threat to score beyond point blank range (which so far has been his only offense).
 
#122      
illiniguy24
IlliniKat91 said:
My only complaint is that OSU/Dayton in the first round feels like a cakewalk.

Illinois-Missouri-Iowa wouldn't be terrible for us. Illinois vs. Northwestern, Iowa vs. Iowa State, Missouri vs. Missouri State, and then maybe SLU vs. Drake? Or DePaul vs. Loyola if they were ever on the same level at the same time
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Forgot about SLU somehow. I don’t think Missouri State is worthy imo
 
#124      
AZILL
It needs to be Illinois/Iowa/Nebraska for it to work. Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa, Iowa St, Drake, Creighton, Nebraska, and rotate/choose between Loyola/Depaul/SIU/ISU...

We have the Braggin' Rights game, let's leave that alone. No one else in MO deserves a mention.
 
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