Forgotten Illinois guard finds a new home in the Big East at Seton Hall

After leading Illinois to the Final Four for the first time since 2005, head coach Brad Underwood did what feels like one of the most impressive things in this day and age of college sports: he was able to retain a good portion of his roster.

With the world of NIL and the Transfer Portal, even after a successful season, players can still up and leave for another program, but Underwood was able to keep a good portion of his team together. Of course, there will always be players who leave for more playing time, like Mihailo Petrovic, who is the latest Fighting Illini player to find his new home.

Petrovic was one of four Illinois players to enter the portal and is the third to find his new home. Petrovic recently transferred to Seton Hall in the Big East, far away from Underwood and Illinois.

Illinois fans might have to rack their brains a bit to remember Petrovic's time on the court, as the Serbian native spent only one season in Champaign. Petrovic didn't ever start for Illinois, but did appear in 19 games, averaging just 5.7 minutes per game and 1.6 points. Petrovic saw more time on the court early in the season, but his time was reduced as the year went on and Keaton Wagler continued to emerge as a superstar in the backcourt.

Petrovic will now join a Seton Hall program that will hopefully be able to make better use of his talents than Illinois did. It wasn't from a lack of talent, but just other players stepping up more and more as the season went on.

Fans can remember Petrovic as a fun guy for the Illini, especially in the media, known for his takes on Chipotle and even crashing an ABC live shot before one of Illinois' games during the regular season.

The loss of Mihailo Petrovic has a low chance of coming back to haunt Illinois

Even though Underwood lost four players to the transfer portal and only brought in one, who just so happened to be Stephan Vaaks, there isn't much worry for the Illini. As mentioned earlier, Underwood was able to retain a good portion of his roster, including bringing back senior Andrej Stojacovic, who tested the NBA waters with the draft process before withdrawing to return to Illinois.

Underwood also brought back David Mikovic and Tomislav Ivisic, which was huge for the frontcourt. Along with the veteran retention, there is going to be another star coming to Champaign: five-star freshman Quinten Coleman, who could be the Keaton Wagler replacement Illinois no doubt needs.

So, while losing four players to the portal could have been detrimental to Underwood, especially when it comes to the rotation of the bench, it shouldn't come back to haunt him. Yes, Underwood lost experience, but with the young group coming in with the freshman class, there isn't a lot to worry about when it comes to Illinois this next season.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow