Last spring, Brad Underwood finally got Illinois to a Final Four. Now the Illini are trying to finish the job. Practice opened September 21, the exhibition slate starts in two weeks, and Champaign has never had preseason expectations this high in the Underwood era.
Where Last Season Left Off
The Illini went 28-9 and reached the Final Four for the first time since 2005. The run ended the painful way: another do-or-die loss to UConn, even with a huge home-crowd edge in Indianapolis.
Underwood says the goal hasn't changed. Going into his 10th season, he's been clear that the target has only ever been a national championship.
The National View: Top Five and the Big Ten Favorite
The preseason projections largely agree:
- RotoWire has Illinois at No. 3 in its preseason rankings.
- 247Sports reported that The Athletic ranked the Illini No. 1 in its preseason top 25.
- In Bart Torvik's projections, only Duke, Florida, and Houston rank ahead of Illinois.
- CBS Sports notes Illinois brings back 65.4% of its scoring, tied with Michigan State for the best mark in the Big Ten.
- The latest Big Ten power rankings have Illinois starting the season as the conference favorite.
The reason is continuity, which has become rare in college basketball. Illinois is only the fourth team of the transfer-portal era to bring back five key rotation players from a Final Four team.
The Big Question: David Mirkovic's Foot
Every conversation about this team starts with Mirkovic. The Montenegrin forward was a breakout freshman, and he chose to come back for his sophomore year instead of turning pro.
Then came the summer setback. According to 247Sports, Mirkovic hurt his left foot in practice on July 31 and had surgery in Indianapolis. The school said it expects a full recovery but gave no return timetable. The timing could have been worse: the injury came on the last day of summer workouts, which gave the staff two months to plan around him.
Underwood gave the latest update at Friday's media day. Mirkovic is doing about 20 minutes a day of light individual work, plus rehab on an anti-gravity treadmill and in the pool with trainer Justin Games. He has another exam early next week, and Underwood made it clear nobody is rushing anything.
"There is no rush. We want to make sure he's healthy, it's a long season."
— Brad Underwood, Illinois media dayWhen Mirkovic is healthy, the offense runs through him. CBS Sports' Isaac Trotter called him a potential All-American who could be the best player in college basketball. The plan includes mid-post touches, pick-and-rolls with Mirkovic handling the ball, and inverted actions built to get smaller defenders switched onto him. Underwood has even had him studying Larry Bird's passing.
A New Backcourt Replaces Wagler and Boswell
Both starting guards from last season are gone. Keaton Wagler is with the Los Angeles Clippers, and Kylan Boswell is on a two-way deal with the Charlotte Hornets. Underwood rebuilt the backcourt with two newcomers.
Stefan Vaaks (6-7, So., Providence transfer). Vaaks was the only transfer Underwood added this offseason, and the staff believes it found the right one. At Providence he averaged nearly 16 points as a freshman and tied for 12th nationally in pull-up threes per game. There's work left to do. Trotter called his defense at Providence a disaster and said he settles for too many jumpers for a guy his size. But the early practice reports are strong. One source told IlliniGuys that Illinois didn't need much from the portal and hit a grand slam with Vaaks.
Quentin Coleman (6-4, Fr.). Illinois flipped Coleman from Wake Forest after a monster senior season at Principia in St. Louis. He's the highest-rated freshman on the roster, and he and Vaaks are both projected to start. CBS describes his game as built on energy, offensive rebounding, ball-hawking defense, and pushing the pace in transition. In recent practice footage, Coleman finished through traffic and dunked on a fellow freshman.
Coleman has also talked about how fast he's fit in. He said the returning players welcomed him in June and the transition has been smooth.
The Rest of the Core
Andrej Stojakovic (6-7, Sr.) is still the guy when Illinois needs a bucket. He averaged 1.107 points per possession on 103 drives last season, one of the best marks in the country. The concern everyone knows about: 24% from three on 82 attempts. Even so, Underwood expects a major jump from him, especially rebounding and defending.
Tomislav Ivisic (7-1, Sr.) is the best pick-and-pop center in the Big Ten. Per CBS, he's one of only eight 7-footers since 2008 to make 50-plus threes in a season, and he's done it twice.
Zvonimir Ivisic (7-2, Sr.) is back at practice after a summer hand injury. Underwood was effusive about him Friday, noting Big Z ran a 5:20 mile this offseason and saying he could be one of the country's best rim protectors.
Jake Davis (6-6, Sr.) is the ultimate glue guy. Nobody in college basketball had a higher offensive rating last season. Davis turned it over just six times all year and shot 40% from three.
Freshmen Fighting for the Eighth Spot
Underwood signed six freshmen. The top seven in the rotation look settled, so the open competition is for eighth man:
- Lincoln Williams has been the summer's pleasant surprise, going from likely end-of-bench guy to real rotation option. His athleticism has jumped off the practice tape.
- Lucas Morillo is the highest-ranked freshman after Coleman, but a back issue may have slowed his offseason.
- Ethan Brown is a shooter who fits if Illinois runs more.
- Zavier Zens is Kon Knueppel's cousin and won three state titles at Wisconsin Lutheran.
- Landon Davis is a 6-9 stretch four who still needs to add strength.
Redshirt sophomore Jason Jakstys gives the frontcourt extra size as depth.
The Schedule: No Easy Month
The NCAA expanded the regular season, so Illinois plays 12 non-conference games and 20 Big Ten games.
- Exhibitions: at Cincinnati (Oct. 17), Baylor (Oct. 23), UIC (Oct. 28)
- Opener: Fairleigh Dickinson at State Farm Center (Nov. 2)
- at Texas Tech (Nov. 10)
- at Duke (Nov. 17)
- UConn at the United Center (Dec. 4) — a Final Four rematch
- Missouri at Enterprise Center (Dec. 20) — Braggin' Rights
- North Carolina at Bridgestone Arena (Jan. 30)
- Michigan State at State Farm Center (Feb. 5) — the only regular-season meeting between the two Big Ten favorites
The Bottom Line
The national outlook is optimistic, with one recurring doubt. A Big 12 assistant told CBS he'd pick Illinois as the best team in the country if it had reliable point guard play.
Trotter projects a top-10 offense and roughly a top-20 defense. In his view, that adds up to a No. 2 seed with a shot at the Big Ten title and another Final Four.
For me, the season turns on two things. First, how quickly Mirkovic gets back to full speed. Second, whether Vaaks becomes the lead guard this roster needs. If both go right, Illinois has every piece it needs to cut down the nets in April.
I-L-L. 🧡Reporting compiled from 247Sports (Illini Inquirer), CBS Sports, The News-Gazette, The Champaign Room, WCIA, Sports Illustrated, RotoWire, and IlliniGuys. Current as of October 3, 2026.