Illinois men’s basketball built a European pro team in college hoops

The Illini have gone all-in on Euro players, and it’s something college hoops has never really seen before.

The Illinois Fighting Illini will more closely resemble a European professional squad than a men’s college basketball team for the 2025-26 season. It feels like no program personifies the changing nature of college basketball roster construction than the Fighting Illini, who are going all-in on European talent for next season, with most of the key pieces already having professional experience.

The Illini put a bow on their 2025 offseason haul by nabbing one of the last remaining proven wing scorers from the transfer portal. Andrej Stojakovic committed to Illinois over North Carolina and Stanford on Monday afternoon with two years of eligibility remaining. Stojakovic is the son of long-time NBA forward Peja Stojakovic, and he cements Illinois’ European makeover this offseason.

Stojakovic took a huge sophomore leap this past season after transferring to Stanford to Cal. The 6’7 wing averaged 17.9 points per game on 54 percent true shooting, with a 31.8 percent mark from three. Stojakovic was a volume scorer on a bad Cal team last year, but his shooting improvement from the free throw line (81.8 percent as a sophomore after 52.8 percent shooting on low volume as a freshman) should give Illinois confidence his outside touch and overall scoring efficiency can continue to improve.

Stojakovic was born in Greece, but attended high school in suburban Sacramento, where he became a McDonald’s All-American near where his father enjoyed a tremendous NBA career. The fact that Stojakovic actually played high school basketball in the United States instead of going the professional route in Europe makes him a rarity on this Illinois roster for next season.

Illinois’ biggest offseason move was retaining sophomore center Tomislav Ivisic, who had some interest from the NBA and would have been coveted in the portal. Head coach Brad Underwood leveraged Ivisic’s European ties as a native of Croatia to build the rest of the roster. Here’s a look at Illinois’ other incoming recruits for the 2025-26 campaign:

• Zvonimir Ivisic, C, via Arkansas: The twin brother of Tomislav Ivisic comes to Champaign after spending his first two college seasons under John Calipari at Kentucky and then Arkansas. ‘Big Z’ is 7’2, 245 pounds, and played a critical role in Arkansas’ Sweet 16 run this past season. Like his brother, Zvonimir has real shooting touch after making 37.6 percent of his 141 three-pointers during his college career. He’s also a feared shot-blocker whose 10.5 percent block rate ranked No. 16 in all of DI. Ivisic was a pro in the ABA League (which houses clubs from the former Yugoslavia territories) from 2020 to 2023 before coming to college.
• David Mirkovic, F, via Montenegro: Mirkovic is a 6’9 forward who was already a pro in the ABA this season at 19 years old. He was named to the 2025 Nike Hoop Summit roster, where he showed off his ability to space the floor with a sweet shooting stroke during practices. Mirkovic already had big games against EuroLeague teams this season, and gives Illini another skilled big man in the front court.
• Mihailo Petrovic, G, via Serbia: Petrovic is a 22-year-old point guard who is already an MVP candidate in the Adriatic League. He’s a speedy ball handler, a skilled playmaker, and a tough below-the-rim scorer inside the arc. Petrovic will be Illinois’ engine, and while he’s not the best outside shooter yet, he should have plenty of space to operate inside the arc with so many floor-spacing bigs on the roster. Petrovic is averaging 13.4 points and 7.3 assists per game for KK Mega Bemax this season.

Illinois hit the jackpot in international recruiting a year ago. After the Illinois lost all five starters from an Elite Eight team in 2024, Underwood went to Lithuania to find point guard Kasparas Jakucionis and Canada to find wing Will Riley. Both Jakucionis and Riley are now off to the 2025 NBA Draft, where each will be a first-round pick.

What’s wild about Illinois’ roster construction this season is so many players already have pro experience. Both Ivisic twins were pros before coming to college. Mirkovic and Petrovic could have been two of the best young talents in Europe for the next decade. Big Ten basketball is tough, but getting players who have already shined against older, professional competition in a very good Adriatic League is a remarkable haul for Underwood.

Opposing fans are going to wonder how Petrovic has any college eligibility left. He will turn 23 years old before the 2026 NCAA tournament, and has been a pro since he was 16 years old. He’s put up some pretty incredible numbers for a young player in a pro league so far — 56.8 percent true shooting this year with a monster 51.5 percent assist rate. Point guards are so crucial to success in college hoops, and the Illini found one already battle-tested and productive against some of the better clubs in Europe.

How did Illinois pull this off? The coaching staff got close with successful Serbian agent Miško Ražnatović, who has represented Nikola Jokic from before he came to the NBA. Petrovic, Mirkovic, and the Ivisic twins are all represented by Ražnatović. Jakucionis and Tomislav Ivisic having positive experiences in Champaign this past season greased the wheels, and now Illinois basically has a young Euro super team for next year.

Illinois will have some non-Euro presence next season with Kylan Boswell, Ty Rodgers, and Jake Davis all returning. The core of this team will be European, though, after losing Morez Johnson to Michigan, Tre White to the transfer portal, and the two freshmen to the NBA. It’s something college basketball hasn’t really seen before. Even Underwood is leaning into the memes on social media:

The Ivisic twins give Illinois a massive front line of two 7-footers next year. Petrovic will be the starter at point guard, and it’s easy to believe that he will shine in the Big Ten given his production in Europe and his advanced age for a college player. Stojakovic gives Illinois a big wing with bucket-getting ability all over the court. It’s possible Mirkovic is the best NBA prospect on this team, and he could be a super-sub to balance lineups off the bench.

It feels like only yesterday when Illinois was struggling in recruiting because they couldn’t land Chicago area players out of high school like Jabari Parker, Cliff Alexander, and Jalen Brunson. Getting a commitment from Ayo Dosunmu changed that, but the college basketball landscape has evolved in a rapid way ever since that the sport is barely recognizable from a few years ago.

Illinois doesn’t seem so worried about their relationships with Chicago Public League coaches these days. College basketball rosters are no longer built from nurturing high school recruits over four years. In this era, roster building is a year-to-year proposition, not unlike the way it is in EuroLeague. The Illini have found a market inefficiency by going to Europe and offering top players more money, a better lifestyle, and renewed interest in their NBA hopes. College basketball is an all-new ballgame, and Illinois’ roster proves it.