It is always fun to have a preseason All-American for the Illinois basketball program.
David Mirkovic was bestowed with that honor in the last couple of weeks. He earned this honor from his great play in the regular season and postseason last year. Mirkovic is supposed to be the lead dog on the No. 3 team in the country. The Illini will have to be without him for what looks like even longer than expected, though.
On Sunday, Brad Underwood went in front of the media to talk about the team before the game on Monday against Fairleigh Dickinson. He mentioned that Mirkovic wasn’t going to be playing on Monday, but Underwood also added another speed bump to getting him back on the court.
“Obviously, Mirk (David Mirkovic) is going to be out. He has had a continued setback, as he had appendicitis, his appendix removed last night.”
The timeline of getting Mirkovic back on the court from his foot surgery was already murky, but now he has to deal with the healing process of having an appendectomy. Underwood didn’t clear up the return timeline either.
“We don’t know what that means. I can’t give you any further update than that. He was in the emergency room having his appendix removed last night.
This is a gut punch when it comes to getting back our All-American. Mirkovic was supposed to be the centerpiece of an Illinois team that has national championship aspirations.
If I had to guess, I would say Illinois isn’t getting Mirkovic back until December at the earliest. It wouldn’t shock me to see him play his first game when the Big Ten season rolls around in January.
Brad Underwood has built great depth on the Illinois basketball roster to sustain a David Mirkovic hit
It is so tough replacing an All-American at any time, let alone right before the season starts. Underwood has done a good job building out the Illinois roster to sustain this type of hit.
Illinois will miss Mirkovic when he is out. This program isn’t going to bottom out without him, though.
There is plenty of depth on the Illinois roster. When the Illini step foot on the court against the Knights, I expect Andrej Stojakovic and Tomislav Ivisic to start. Those are two of our most experienced players who have a chance to head to the NBA next season.
There is also a combination of Jake Davis, Zvonimir Ivisic, and Stefan Vaaks, who are all going on at least their second season.
Underwood brought in multiple four- or five-star recruits in the offseason. Davis led the Illini in three-point shooting last season. In the three exhibition games, the worst Illinois shot from three-point range was 35.9%.
Illinois’ only worry is rebounding the basketball. I think we could struggle in this department, and it will bite us on occasion. With that being said, we should be okay for now. The Illini will take a few bruises along the way, but when we get Mirkovic back, I want to still be a top 20 program. That is my goal.
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