Illinois’ David Mirkovic One of 2 B1G Players on Preseason All-America Team

The Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team is preparing for its exhibition game against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday, Oct. 17, leading up to the regular season opener against Fairleigh Dickinson on Nov. 2.

Star forward David Mirkovic’s potential status for that game was updated recently, giving Brad Underwood and his team hope for a full starting lineup against the Knights.

Advertisement

Mirkovic is coming off of a 13.3 points-per-game season in 2025-26, and has battled a left foot injury that required surgery this offseason.

On Wednesday, CBS Sports released its Preseason All-America Team, and Mirkovic was included along with one other Big Ten player.

Mar 28, 2026; Houston, TX, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward David Mirkovic (0) controls the ball against Iowa Hawkeyes guard Kael Combs (11) in the second half during an Elite Eight game of the South Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Toyota Center. Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Mirkovic joined Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr., the Big Ten Media Day Preseason Player of the Year, on CBS Sports’ Preseason All-America Team, according to national college hoops writer Isaac Trotter.

Mirkovic is a 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward from Niksic, Mongtenegro who decided to return for his sophomore season with Underwood’s team. He finished 30th in the Big Ten in scoring last season, two places behind returning teammate Andrej Stojakovic and 13 places behind Fears, Jr., who averaged 15.2 points per game.

Advertisement

The Illini forward also snagged eight rebounds per game and shot over 48% from the field, including 37.5% from three-point range.

Mirkovic has had a hard time adjusting to life on the practice court since returning, according to an interview of Underwood in the The News-Gazette of Champaign-Urbana.

Underwood spoke about his recovery in a recent article.

“He was literally out there about six minutes, and we needed oxygen, and he needed help,” Underwood said.

Mirkovic will not play in Saturday’s exhibition…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/illinois-david-mirkovic-one-2-231719461.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-10-14 23:17:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.