The Next Chapter of Illinois Basketball

Last season changed the expectations around Illinois basketball.

For the first time in 21 years, the Illini reached the Final Four. They won 28 games, established themselves as one of the best teams in the country and came within two wins of a national championship.

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Now comes the difficult part: doing it again.

What makes this Illinois team so interesting is that it is not starting over. Five of the team’s eight leading scorers from last season are returning, giving Brad Underwood something that has become increasingly valuable in college basketball: continuity.

David Mirković, Andrej Stojaković, Tomislav Ivišić, Zvonimir Ivišić and Jake Davis are all back for another season. That experience gives Illinois a foundation most teams entering a new season simply do not have.

But Underwood does not want this group to spend the year trying to recreate last season.

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He wants it to become something different.

The returning players have something that cannot be replicated in practice: they know what it takes to make a deep NCAA Tournament run, and they know how quickly that run can end.

Illinois’ season ultimately ended two wins short of a national championship. For the players who were there, that experience can serve as both motivation and perspective.

Underwood has described his returning players as hungry, pointing to the work several of them put in during the offseason. Jake Davis underwent surgery after playing through a knee injury late last season, while Zvonimir Ivišić added significant weight entering his second season. Underwood has also praised the offseason work of Tomislav Ivišić and Mirković.

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That does not guarantee another deep tournament run, but it does mean Illinois enters the season with players who understand the standard required to compete at that level.

They are no longer trying to figure out whether they belong.

They have already shown that they do.

Mar 28, 2026; Houston, TX, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/next-chapter-illinois-basketball-190004793.html

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Publish date : 2026-09-22 19:00:00

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