Pivots, versatility, and the chaotic brilliance of David Mirkovic

In 2025, I watched the Nike Hoop Summit.

The game featured big names like A.J. Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Cayden Boozer, Koa Peat, Nate Ament, and Chris Cenac.

But I tuned in to watch a future Illinois player. I wanted to see the international man of mystery, whom I knew would define the Illini season. The young, international prospect had the kind of game that mapped perfectly to the roster Illinois was in the process of building. He had proven experience playing well–known European club. He had positional size, skill, and the talent to make an immediate impact in the Big Ten.

Advertisement

That player is named Dame Sarr.

Sarr was straight out of Benedict Mathurin prospect dreamworld. He was the physical, athletic, two-way wing prospect Illinois had been seeking to fill the Terrence Shannon-sized hole on the roster.

He looked like he would produce brutal poetry in transition and be the best half-court lob threat Illinois had fielded since Kofi Cockburn.

Of course, the story didn’t play out that way. Sarr wound up committing to Duke.

Illinois was the perceived frontrunner for Sarr’s services, due in part to his long-time close friendship with Kasparas Jakucionis. The popular narrative is that Sarr’s price tag kept escalating, so Illinois instead chose to allocate resources to a more experienced college player.

Advertisement

Andrej Stojakovic entered the transfer portal, and resources were allocated well.

Incidentally, Jakucionis himself was a pivot for the Illini due to the price of their top target skyrocketing (eventual BYU guard and lottery pick Egor Demin).

But in that Nike Hoop Summit, there was a mysterious forward who had opened some eyes. The rumors that he would commit to the Illini existed before the game and only intensified after his performance.

That player is David Mirkovic. And much like the Jakucionis pivot, it came up aces for the Illini.

David Mirkovic is an excellent example of this staff and its roster construction philosophy.

Sure, Dame Sarr is the poetic…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/pivots-versatility-chaotic-brilliance-david-175109624.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-02-20 17:51:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.