Battle with Illini, Illinois It’s much more similar to a professional European team than a boys’ college basketball team in the 2025-26 season. The program that personifies the changing nature of the college basketball roster has already had more specialized experience than Fighting Illini, who is all-in to European talent next season.
Illini placed his bow on the hauling for the 2025 offseason and caught one of the last remaining proven wing scorers from the transfer portal. Andregi Stojakovic has committed to Illinois at North Carolina and Stanford University Two years of eligibility remains on Monday afternoon. Stojakovic is the son of longtime NBA forward Pejasto Jakovic, who cements the European makeover of Illinois this offseason.
Stojakovic made his sophomore leaps this past season after moving to Stanford to California. The 6’7 Wing averaged 17.9 points per game with 54% true shooting, with a mark of 3 to 31.8%. Stojakovic was a volume scorer for a bad Cal team last year, but his improvement in shooting from the free throw line (81.8% as a sophomore after shooting at a low volume of 52.8% as a freshman) gives Illinois confidence and his external touch and overall scoring efficiency can continue to improve.
Although Stojakovic was born in Greece, he attended a high school in the suburbs of Sacramento and became a national at McDonald’s, where his father enjoyed an incredible NBA career. The fact that Stojakovic actually played high school basketball in the US instead of going on the professional European route makes this Illinois roster unusual for next season.
Illinois’ biggest offseason move was to keep sophomore center Tomislav Evithic. Head coach Brad Underwood used Ivisic’s European ties to build the rest of his roster. Check out other new recruits in Illinois for the 2025-26 campaign.
- Zvonimir Ivisic, C, via Arkansas: The twin brothers of Tomislav Evicich come to Champaign after spending their first two college seasons under John Calipari in Kentucky and Arkansas. The “Big Z” is 7’2, 245 pounds and has played a key role in Arkansas’ sweet 16 runs this past season. Like his brother, Zvonimir is really shooting after winning 37.6% of 141 3-pointers during his college career. He is also a terrifying shot blocker with a block rate of 16th in all of DIs. Ivisic was a professional in the ABA League (housed clubs in the former Yugoslavia region) from 2020 to 2023 before entering university.
- David Mirkovic, F, via Montenegro: Mirkovic is a 6’9 forward and was already a professional ABA pro this season at the age of 19. He was named to the 2025 Nike Hoop Summit roster, showing off his ability to make the floor space with sweet shooting strokes during practice. Mirkovic already had a big game against the Euroleague team This season we give Illini to another skilled big man on the frontcourt.
- Mihailo Petrovic, G, via Serbia: Petrovic is a 22-year-old point guard and is already a MVP candidate for the Adriatic League. He is a speedy ball handler, a skilled playmaker and a scorer below the tough rim in the arc. Petrovic is the engine of Illinois and he is not yet the best external shooter game, but he should have plenty of space to operate within the arc where there are so many floor space big names on the roster. Petrovic averaged 13.4 points and 7.3 assists per game for KK Mega Bemax this season.
Illinois hit the jackpot with international recruitment a year ago. After Illinois lost all five starters on the elite eight teams in 2024, Underwood went to Lithuania to find point guard Casparas Jacosionis and Canada to find Wing Will Riley. Both Jakucionis and Riley are out in the 2025 NBA Draft, each becoming the first round pick.
This season, Wild in Illinois’ roster construction is that many players already have professional experience. Both Ivisic twins were professionals before entering university. Mirkovic and Petrovic may have been two of Europe’s best young talents for the next decade. Big Ten basketball is tough, but getting a player who is already shining against the old professional competition in the very good Adriatic League is an incredible distance for Underwood.
Opposing fans will wonder how Petrovich leaves college eligibility behind. He turned 23 before the 2026 NCAA Tournament and was a professional since he was 16. He has so far posted pretty incredible numbers for young players in the professional league. This year, the shooting rate is 56.8%, and the assist rate is 51.5%. Point guards are extremely important to succeed in the university hoops, and Illini has already found combat tests and productive against some of the better clubs in Europe.
How did Illinois get this off? The coaching staff approached Misico la la Natovic, a Serbian agent who represented Nikola Djokic before coming to the NBA. Petrovic, Milkovic and Ivisic twins are all represented by Rajnatovic. Jakucionis and Tomislav Ivisic have had a positive experience in Champaign this past season. Currently, Illinois essentially has a young Euro super team for next year.
Illinois will have a non-Euro presence next season, with Curran Boswell, Ty Rogers and Jake Davis all returning. However, the core of this team is Europe after losing Mores Johnson to Michigan, and Tre White to the portal to transfer two freshmen to the NBA. That’s something college basketball has never seen before. Even Underwood leaned against social media memes:
The Ivisic twins will give Illinois a massive frontline of two seven-footers next year. Petrovic will be the starter for Point Guard. Given his production in Europe and the senior age of college athletes, it’s easy to believe he will shine in the Big Ten. Stojakovic gives Illinois a large wing with the ability to win buckets all over the court. Mirkovic could be the best NBA prospect on this team, and he could be a super sub to balance the lineup from the bench.
It feels like Illinois was struggling to recruit as Illinois failed to land Chicago-area athletes from high schools like Jabari Parker, Cliff Alexander and Jalen Branson. Getting commitments from Ayo Dosunmu changed that, but the college basketball landscape has evolved rapidly as sports are barely recognised for several years.
Illinois doesn’t seem to be too worried about his recent relationship with Chicago Public League coaches. The college basketball roster is not built from raising high school recruits for four years. In this era, the roster building is an annual proposal and is not different from the Euroleague method. Illini has discovered market inefficiencies by going to Europe and providing top players with more money, a better lifestyle and providing new interest in the NBA’s hopes. College basketball is a whole new game of balls, and the Illinois roster proves that.
