As Illinois guard Kylan Boswell heads into his second year with the Fighting Illini and fourth season of collegiate basketball, he is set to take on more of a leadership role for Brad Underwood's squad. That will include leading two new members of the Illinois men's basketball program: Andrej Stojakovic and Zvonimir Ivisic.
Stojakovic and Ivisic were four-star transfer portal prospects that Underwood landed this offseason, and who are expected to play big minutes throughout the upcoming season.
After an offseason practice session, Boswell shared some pretty high praise for the new additions to his team.
What to expect from Illinois basketball transfer portal additions
"I don't think anybody's ready for some s–– that we've been doing in practice," Boswell said. "Andrej [Stojakovic] is nasty, and then Big Z [Zvonimir Ivisic]... he's completely committed and dove into the program.
Boswell went on to say that Ivisic and Tomislav Ivisic (yes, they're brothers) are unbeatable on either side of the court: "You can't guard that, nor can you score on that."
Tomislav "Tom" Ivisic was the second-leading scorer for the Fighting Illini last season, averaging 13.0 points per game alongside 7.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 blocks. Zvonimir Ivisic, while playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks last season, averaged 8.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game.
Stojakovic, who transferred to Illinois after playing a season each for Stanford and California, averaged a resounding 17.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 0.8 steals per game during the 2024-25 season.
For comparison, Boswell started in 34 games last season for the Fighting Illini. He averaged 12.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. Stojakovic started in just 28 games last season. "Big Z" only started in 19 games.
To put it lightly, the addition of Ivisic and Stojakovic was huge news for the Illinois recruiting cycle, and will most likely have an even bigger impact once the season actually tips off.