Another Illinois basketball player should be knocking on the door of the NBA

It has been a wild start to the 2024-25 season, as the Illinois basketball team currently sits at 6-1 overall.

This start includes the only loss coming to a ranked Alabama program by 13 points. That loss knocked the Illini out of the rankings, but with a huge win over No. 19 Arkansas on Thanksgiving, look for the Orange and Blue to be represented again in the AP Top 25.

Illinois’ hot start to the season has been fascinating. We aren’t doing this with an experienced lineup that has been playing together for years. No, it has been quite the opposite.

Everyone on the court besides Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn wasn’t playing for the Illini this time last season. Among all of the newcomers to the team, Brad Underwood was able to land multiple NBA prospects as well.

Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley were both projected first-round NBA Draft picks to start the season. Illinois having two picks in the first round hasn’t happened in decades.

Both players have lived up to their billing too. Jakucionis can do everything on the basketball court. He is going to have multiple triple-doubles this season, and at 6-foot-6, that makes him an awfully intriguing prospect at the next level. I haven’t even mentioned the fact he can hit from three-point range.

Riley can light up the scoreboard too. At 6-foot-8, he can create his own shot and will pull up from anywhere on the court. His size makes it hard to defend him.

While Jakucionis and Riley are the two projected first-round picks, I have also seen Ben Humrichous potentially going in the second round. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for an NBA team to take a chance on him, as he is a 6-foot-9 sharpshooter who is knocking down 42.9% of his three-point attempts.

Those three players are all extremely talented, but one player I haven't seen much of in NBA talks is Tomislav Ivisic. Honestly, at the end of the day, he might be the best NBA prospect on the court.

Tomislav Ivisic is giving the Illinois basketball team everything an NBA franchise would want in a player

When I watch Ivisic on the court, he checks all of the boxes for a player at the next level. Let’s start with his shooting.

Ivisic is one of the best three-point shooters on the Illinois basketball team. He is currently hitting his three-point shots at a clip of 38.2%., which ranks No. 3 on the team. He isn’t just taking one or two a game either. He was 6-of-9 from three-point range against Arkansas.

I have been impressed with Ivisic’s game from inside the three-point arc too. When teams go with a zone look defensively, Illinois can dump the ball into Ivisic in the paint, and he can hit mid-range shots all day long.

When Ivisic goes back to the basket, he is extremely dangerous too. He has nice post moves and his touch around the hoop is even better.

I haven’t even mentioned the fact that Ivisic is this polished offensively while standing at 7-foot-1. You have a player over 7-foot who is able to do all of this on the basketball court. And he isn’t a lumbering big man either. Ivisic can move around and run the court well.

On a team that has three NBA Draft prospects, Ivisic leads Illinois in points, rebounds, and steals. He is second in blocks, third in three-point shooting, and fourth in assists. I have never seen Illinois have anyone like Ivisic in my lifetime.

Underwood found a gem in Ivisic. He is a player who is not only putting up big numbers, but I think by season’s end, Ivisic is going to be a first-round NBA Draft pick in 2025. I would argue he is the best NBA prospect on the team right now. With this much talent, Illinois has a serious chance to win some hardware when the dust settles.