This past spring, the main headline following Illinois‘ season was its retention. In an era of college athletics where players frequently come and go via the transfer portal, the Illini are returning five of their eight leading scorers from last season, four of whom are rising seniors. 

Yet, at his summer media availability on Tuesday, head coach Brad Underwood made it clear that this is a new year with a new team. Having key pieces carry over from Illinois’ historic Final Four certainly gives it a leg-up from an experience and chemistry standpoint, but the focus turns to learning who this new roster will be.

“This team will have its own identity,” Underwood said. “They’ll have their own mannerisms. They’ll have their own characteristics. They’ll have their own style. You know, it’s our job to put that together. There’s no doubt that there’s some carryover with guys and some things we do want to carry over, but from the mentality, I won’t talk about last year very much.” 

Summer workouts and practices officially began June 15 for all student-athletic programs across campus. For men’s basketball, Underwood noted one of his main goals for the team this summer is getting their bodies in the right shape with the help of strength & conditioning coach Adam Fletcher and director of player development Zach Hamer. It’s also an opportunity to begin installing new components in the offense and defense.

With that said, here’s a summer update on the Illini’s returning veterans plus the new faces coming to State Farm Center this fall. 

Absent Illini 

Running a practice with his entire roster on the court together hasn’t happened quite yet for Underwood. From kneading out injuries to basketball opportunities outside of Champaign-Urbana, the Illini are slowly starting to get all their pieces back in one place. However, it’s been an in-and-out process. 

Senior wing Andrej Stojaković is at the top of the list of injuries once again. Stojaković had a scope done on his knee in late spring and hasn’t fully participated in a practice since. Underwood said he’s a little over three and a half weeks into his recovery and is hoping to have him do a bit more after the team’s break over Fourth of July weekend.

“Every day he’s out there is a good day,” Underwood said of Stojaković. “It helps our basketball team become better. It helped him become better, but the biggest thing is you want him feeling right and healthy. He’s been here the entire time since the (NBA) Combine, the surgery and the rehab.” 

Another veteran who is starting to make his way back onto the court is senior wing Jake Davis. Underwood said that Davis finished playing at the end of last season with torn cartilage in his knee, which he had surgery on. According to Underwood, Davis is now back to practicing.

To round out the list of injuries, freshman wing Lucas Morillo started participating in lighter on-court activities on Tuesday after working through a tweak in his back. 

As for the Illini’s new potential primary ball handlers, freshman guard Quentin Coleman and sophomore guard Stefan Vaaks, they have both been away from the team at times for other basketball activities. Although Vaaks started the summer in Champaign, he’s since been competing with the Estonian senior national team. Underwood said Illinois will be getting Vaaks back in practice next week. 

“We’ll get dialed in a little more as to strengths and weaknesses within the framework of what we’re doing, but his shooting is no-nonsense,” Underwood said. “It’s really good.” 

Up until the beginning of June, Coleman was competing with the USA Basketball Men’s U18 team for the FIBA U18 AmeriCup. Coleman helped the USA secure a silver medal and earned All-Star Five honors. He is now missing a portion of the Illini’s summer workouts to participate in Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum’s Elite Camp in Las Vegas until Friday. 

For both Vaaks and Coleman, Underwood said he isn’t too worried about integrating them back into routine practice upon their returns. 

“They’re playing basketball,” Underwood said. “It’s not like they’re, you know, sitting on a beach doing nothing … The transition becomes pretty easy.” 

Newcomers become veterans

According to Underwood, the veterans have all come into the summer with a “hungry, aggressive mindset” following last season’s Final Four loss to UConn, and they’re ready for another shot at claiming the Illini’s first national title. 

“It’s pretty good that they understood what that felt like at the end of the year in both getting there and then how crappy that loss felt,” Underwood said. “There’s another feeling to have, and I think they’re pretty hungry for that.” 

While Illinois had some revamping to do with its backcourt this offseason, the key frontcourt players stayed intact. Sophomore forward David Mirković and senior centers Tomislav Ivišić and Zvonimir Ivišić got back to business and haven’t slowed down since returning to Illinois this summer. 

Although Mirković had the opportunity to play for the Montenegro National Team, he forwent that. Instead, he took the chance to stay in Champaign to prepare for his upcoming sophomore year with the Illini. 

“I think he truly understands the benefits of (Fletcher) and getting his body right, being in the best shape he can be, being the best prepared he can be,” Underwood said. “I think he understands he’s one of the best players in college basketball, and he wants to capitalize on making the most of that opportunity and feels like that was being here.”

The potential leap Mirković has the chance to make from his freshman to sophomore season is one to watch out for this fall. As a freshman, he became a standout player from the jump with his consistent effort on the floor and fun, unfiltered personality that Illini fans quickly grew fond of. Mirković nearly averaged a double-double last season with 13.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, but a summer of adding muscle and increasing confidence may be what he needs to level up. 

“Best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores,” Underwood said. “You see the confidence in that. With that comes experience, and then you start putting the physical changes (Mirković’s) made. We found a body weight that’s very comfortable for him, and now it’s adding muscle; it’s adding strength. I think when you pair that with confidence, you have one of the best players in the country.”

The Ivišić twins have been putting in the work as well. They have both been in the weight room this summer, as Underwood said Zvonimir Ivišić is up to 260 pounds after coming to Illinois at 222, and Tomislav Ivišić has been one of the first players at the facility to work out every morning.

Underwood also mentioned the extra emphasis he’s putting on shot blocking this season due to the size of this year’s roster, and that starts with the twin 7-foot centers patrolling the paint. He’s also pushing for a more aggressive mentality on the defensive end. 

Freshmen start strong 

An incoming class of six freshmen was one of the main reasons why Illinois didn’t have to hit the transfer portal this offseason to reload its roster. The new class includes Coleman, Morillo, freshman guard Lincoln Williams, forward Zavier Zens, forward Landon Davis and guard Ethan Brown. Luckily for Underwood, the freshmen have come to Champaign ready to pick up on the Illini’s schemes quickly. 

“Our freshmen have been very positive in terms of their retention, their intelligence,” Underwood said. “I like that a lot. It’s helped us advance maybe a little quicker than we initially anticipated because of their job to retain stuff.” 

In just a few weeks of practice, Underwood said he’s already learned a lot about the new crop of freshmen. Each player has had their individual days to stand out, but the group has shown up ready to compete every day. 

“They’re extremely competitive,” Underwood said. “You know, this freshman group, they’ve got grit. They’re maybe a little different than last year’s group in terms of competitive spirit. They want to do the right things … There’s a lot of talking, a lot of chirping going on, which is a good sign. I’m taking that as a real positive right now.”

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