Shockingly, there was a lot that went right for the Illinois basketball team during the 2025-26 campaign.
The Illini were one of the surprises in the college game after we added numerous transfer portal and overseas additions. A lot of those additions for Brad Underwood worked out, but there was one that didn’t.
On Saturday afternoon, one of the additions came to an end. It was reported by Jonathan Givony of Draft Express that Illini guard Mihailo Petrovic is entering the transfer portal.
NEWS: Illinois' Mihailo Petrovič will enter the transfer portal, agent Miško Ražnatović told DraftExpress.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 11, 2026
The 23-year-old Serbian point guard played sparingly for the Illini, but will have two years of NCAA eligibility remaining. pic.twitter.com/X47Yumvfe6
I had Petrovic pegged as the starting point guard for Illinois entering this past season. Injury issues and a late start to his time in Champaign led to Keaton Wagler starting, and the rest is history.
Petrovic ended his lone season at Illinois, playing in 19 games and seeing just 5.7 minutes per game. He was a player who had potential, but the college game seemed a little too fast for him. Petrovic never felt like he fit in on the Illini roster, either.
The Mihailo Petrovic failed experiment leaves Illinois backcourt with little experience
It is going to be interesting to see what Illinois will put out on the court in the backcourt next season.
According to my calculations, Petrovic is now departing. Kylan Boswell is aging out. Wagler is heading to the NBA.
As far as a true guard goes, you are looking at Brandon Lee as the most experienced backcourt player for the Illini. He played a total of 74 minutes for the program in 2025-26.
I think this gives Quentin Coleman the green light for the Illini. He committed to Underwood nearly a week ago, and he is a top 35 player in the class of 2026. He will have a say in backcourt production next season.