On Wednesday afternoon, the first and biggest domino fell when it came to Illinois basketball and the transfer portal.
No, the Illini didn’t add anyone on Wednesday. Instead, Brad Underwood was able to retain All-Big Ten forward David Mirkovic. This was one of the biggest transfer portal snubs of the year for the Orange and Blue, but the fun didn’t stop there.
Later on in the evening, more news continued to trickle in. Illinois needed a big man for next season, and we officially got our answer.
The Illinois basketball social media posted, “The Original Balkan is back.” A picture of big man Tomislav Ivisic was underneath it, with the caption, “Run it back.”
The Original Balkan is back. pic.twitter.com/Wu3dIvRKUX
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) April 16, 2026
It was always a question mark on whether Ivisic was going to return to Illinois. He has spent two seasons in Champaign, which is an eternity in today’s college basketball world. There are some players who would be going on their third team by now.
More importantly, Illinois' best mustache would have been a one-and-done. We have only gotten one season of what Ivisic can do with the stache, and thankfully, there is another year coming of that caterpillar in the paint.
The numbers don’t show it, but I believe Ivisic became a more polished player in the paint last season. He had really nice touch around the rim, and his physical size got bigger, which made him harder to stop when he got down on the block.
I expect a jump in numbers from last season, too. Ivisic took a bit of a hit across the board. He was learning his new style and body, and now he has a full year under his belt.
This was a massive return for the Illinois basketball team, as we don’t have to go to the transfer portal
Bringing back Ivisic was huge for the Illini. He knows the team already, and there doesn’t have to be an offseason of gelling to get ready for the upcoming campaign. The starting unit has pretty much played with each other for at least a season.
Moreover, Underwood doesn’t have to go into the transfer portal and scrap together a center. If Ivisic doesn’t return, Illinois would have needed to go out and find a big man. There are only a limited number of talented centers out there, and I would argue none are as good as Ivisic.
Landing transfer portal players is fun, but what is more fun is retaining talent on the roster. Ivisic is back in the fold, and this Illini squad is really starting to come together.
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