Illinois basketball big man cleared for takeoff with eligibility approval from NCAA

I would say it was one of the craziest offseasons I have ever experienced as an Illinois basketball fan.

When you go from making an Elite 8, the first since 2005, to then losing all but two scholarship players, you get kind of nervous about what lies ahead. The Illini coaching staff didn’t panic, though.

Brad Underwood, even after losing a top assistant coach to West Virginia, managed to make a great hire and started to add talent to the roster. Numerous players either transferred in or signed on. We also kept the great talent who was already committed, like Morez Johnson Jr.

Illinois also did some great work with overseas talent. Kasparas Jakucionis has a ton of hype, and the Illini also landed some frontcourt help with the addition of Tomislav Ivisic.

Everything wasn’t so cut and dry with Ivisic’s commitment, though. With overseas players playing club ball at a young age, eligibility can get a little murky at times. Well, on Thursday evening, everything was cleared up.

In a press release from the Illinois athletic department, they announced that Ivisic will be eligible for the 2024-25 season.

Illinois goes to say that Ivisic will be listed as a sophomore, so he has three years of eligibility remaining. There was clearly some money made or a benefit in the past, though. In the press release, Illinois mentions that Ivisic has to donate to a charity of his choice as part of the reinstatement.

Illinois basketball has an incredible amount of talent in the frontcourt for the 2024-25 campaign

The news on Thursday night was welcomed. Not only did Illinois retain a player who is going to help the team, but I think Ivisic is going to be a key player during the 2024-25 season.

Illini fans got a glimpse of what we could see this season in the exhibition game against Ole Miss. While Illinois got trounced in the game, there were a few things that popped out to me. One was Ivisic’s size.

I was impressed with how the big man moved and just how big of a presence he was on the court. Ivisic also got the start in the game, which was a bit of a surprise move. I thought he would be a quality backup, but it looks like Underwood might be riding with him as the starter.

Ivisic isn’t the only frontcourt talent either. Johnson impressed me a lot in the game against Ole Miss. He is still sucking up rebounds and being a physical presence in the paint. These two should form one of the most dangerous one-two punches for any Big Ten program. They are going to be a force.