Good Morning, Illini Nation: Ranking Illinois' 10 most important players

Jun. 16—The general consensus from multiple college basketball writers and analysts across the country is Illinois coach Brad Underwood has built another top 25-caliber roster for the 2025-26 season. A mix of returning players and newcomers is topped by these 10 most important Illini:

1. Andrej Stojakovic

Losing Will Riley to the 2025 NBA Draft made adding a wing scorer the top offseason priority. While Illinois did dabble internationally for another potential one-and-done option with its pursuit of Dame Sarr, Stojakovic fills the same role and does so with two years of high major experience under his belt. The 6-foot-7 guard hasn't yet flashed pure shooting ability like his dad, 13-year NBA veteran Peja, but the younger Stojakovic can score at all three levels. Potential growth as a secondary ball handler and playmaker would make him even more valuable.

2. Tomislav Ivisic

All the practices and games Ivisic either missed or wasn't 100 percent during the 2024-25 season — and the way Underwood discussed his absence — was as good an indicator of his value as anything else. Avoiding strep throat, mononucleosis and ankle injuries in 2025-26 is important. Because of Ivisic is healthy for a full season, there's no reason the 7-1 Croatian can't be one of the most productive big men in the Big Ten. Illinois ran some of its offense through Ivisic last season, and that won't change in his second year in orange and blue.

3. Kylan Boswell

The way Boswell finished the 2024-25 season — averaging 16.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and four assists in his final eight games while still playing lockdown defense — was a truer reflection of his ability than other moments in an up-and-down junior year. That he did that while still shooting just 28 percent from three-point range in that stretch made it even more impressive. Shooting was the major ding on Boswell in his first season at Illinois, but the fact he shot 38 percent from deep in two seasons at Illinois makes the one-year dip the outlier.

4. Mihailo Petrovic

How Petrovic fits on this somewhat new-look Illinois team is obviously still dependent on the 22-year-old Serbian guard signing with the Illini. That's a rather crucial step that hasn't happened yet, and one Underwood and Co. need to happen. Mostly to shoulder his share of the ball handling and playmaking duties in lieu of heaping them all on Boswell. Petrovic is, of course, a bit of wild card in the Big Ten given his straight-from-Europe path to college basketball, but he was an MVP candidate in the Adriatic League. That counts for something.

5. Ty Rodgers

Count Rodgers among the biggest X-factors for Illinois in 2025-26. The versatile 6-6 guard started all 38 games for an Elite Eight team as a sophomore. Then he played in exactly zero games last season after a surprise redshirt. Rodgers is part known commodity as a physical wing with a high motor and part mystery because there's still no telling the status of his jump shot. The Illini prefer to run out lineups with five shooters, and the last time anyone saw Rodgers on the court opposing defenses were lending zero credence to his ability to make shots.

6. Zvonimir Ivisic

While there's some overlap in skill set and ability between the Ivisic twins, the one thing Tomislav showed last season at Illinois was something that's mostly evaded Zvonimir through seasons at Kentucky and Arkansas. The 7-2 center had some "wow" moments for the Razorbacks in 2024-25, including back-to-back games of 27 and 25 points in the heart of SEC play. But his disappearance in the postseason wasn't the only stretch of limited playing time and production. Harness the consistency of his brother, and "Big Z" could be a serious weapon.

7. David Mirkovic

Mirkovic might have come up through SC Derby in the Adriatic League like the Ivisic twins, but the 6-9, 255-pound forward will provide a different look in the Illinois frontcourt in the 2025-26 season. The 19-year-old Montenegrin is a capable shooter and flashed some of the same passing skills just like his Croatian counterparts, but he's got a different level of physicality in the post. Think "booty ball" that could turn into "bully ball" in the right matchups. A big man prototype the Illini needed after Morez Johnson Jr. transferred to Michigan.

8. Ben Humrichous

Humrichous opted to take advantage of a bonus year of eligibility and return to Illinois for another season even after the additions of Zvonimir Ivisic and Mirkovic were announced. Those two will likely cut into the 25.9 minutes per game Humrichous played in 2024-25, but he wanted to come back anyway. The quickest way to insure fewer minutes lost, of course, is to make three-pointers at a rate closer to his 41 percent success rate at Evansville in 2023-24. A dip to 34 percent from deep last season lessened his ability to impact winning.

9. Brandon Lee

Lee will skyrocket up this list if Petrovic somehow doesn't wind up in Champaign this coming season. Should the roster play out as expected, there could still be a role for the 6-5 freshman as a third guard behind Boswell and Petrovic. Or in instances where Illinois needs a quick injection of scoring off the bench. That's a role Lee has thrived in at multiple levels. He was one of the top five scorers in the EYBL last spring and summer and topped 2,000 career points this past season at the Patrick School (N.J.).

10. Jake Davis

It's a safe assumption to picture Davis in a similar role in 2025-26 to the one he filled off the bench last season after transferring from Mercer to Illinois. As in fairly limited minutes where he's asked to crash the boards and knock down corner threes. A role the 6-6 forward filled admirably last season when not asked to defend guys like one-and-done Maryland center Derik Queen. Make enough three-pointers, and Davis could repeat the double-digit scoring games he had last season against Oregon and Northwestern.