The Illinois basketball season is right around the corner, and there is still a massive question mark on the roster.
Can you believe it? The Illini play a basketball game in about three weeks from now. It is an exhibition game against Illinois State on October 19. That is a little taste of what is to come for the 2025-26 season.
Even though the excitement is there, Illinois still has one massive thing to figure out. Will we have our starting point guard to begin the run to the NCAA tournament?
On Monday, Brad Underwood talked with the media. The topic of point guard Mihailo Petrovic came up, and whether or not he is officially clear to play, and Underwood didn’t have good news for the Illinois fanbase.
“Still going through the process with Mihailo. Again, it’s not…everything is moving. It’s just been a later process for him for things that were uncontrolled by everybody because of things that were going on in Belgrade and Serbia…It’s just a little slower process…We’ve done everything we can do on our end.”
When will #illini PG Mihailo Petrovic be officially cleared to play regular season basketball?
— Carson Gourdie (@GourdieReport) September 22, 2025
“Still waiting,” said Brad Underwood. “Everything is moving but it’s been a later process.”
“We’ve done every we could on our end.”
Petrovic is 22 is from Europe pic.twitter.com/TiQlKlrHen
This is concerning news about the availability of Petrovic. He is going to be a key piece for the Illinois basketball team this season, and his production is greatly needed.
Petrovic is bringing over some immense talent. He averaged 14.2 points, 7.3 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game from his KK Mega Basket team last season. His shooting is underrated, too. But the ability to get his teammates involved is what piques my interest the most about Petrovic’s game.
Kylan Boswell’s role will have to expand if Mihailo Petrovic can’t go for Illinois right away
It would be a huge disappointment if Petrovic isn’t eligible to start the season. He is projected to start at the No. 1 guard spot, and he would be a great engine to help the Illinois offense and defense run.
If he is out for a few games, that means Kylan Boswell is going to have to take a bigger role. I think he is trending toward more of a scorer role in 2025-26, but Boswell would need to be more of a true point guard if Petrovic were to miss time.
Hopefully, in the coming weeks, Illinois can get some good news and start the season on the right foot. This could be a pretty good year, and I want the Illini at full strength to start the run to the postseason.