Freshman David Mirkovic is probably the best soundbite on this Illini basketball team. Although Jake Davis isn’t too far behind. Mirkovic can often be blunt and colorful, which is very refreshing, given how sports media availability world is one where cliches and platitudes almost always rule.
“If we lost today and I wasn’t playing I would kill myself probably,” Mirkovic said, on January 24, in regards to his decision to play in Illinois’ 88-82 win #8 Purdue. Mirkovic entered that game listed as questionable, due to an ankle injury.
NCAA Tournament First Round FYIs
#3 seed Illinois Fighting Illini vs #14 seed Penn Quakers
Thursday, March 19 | 8:25 p.m. CT (9:25 p.m. ET), Greenville, S.C.
TNT (Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill)
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The Niksic, Montenegro native made both All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and the Big Ten All-Freshman team this season. For most of the season, he’s been the team’s second best player behind Keaton Wagler.
And he brings a very unique perspective, having played professionally in the Balkan states, an area of the world that Illini head coach Brad Underwood has recruited at an elite level. He now plays what is technically amateur ball now, but you know the current state of big time college basketball- but it’s basically semi-pro.
In 50 career ABA games for SC Derby, averaged 7.8 points and 5.2 rebounds. The 20-year-old praised all the added resources that major college basketball programs have here in the United States, comparing and contrasting it against his home country, where these facets can be lacking.
“When you see all the conditions you have,” Mirkovic said in an exclusive with The Sports Bank. “Like you have 30 managers that they help you rebound every day, when you see all the coaches, all the staff, all the facilities you have, you just get motivated and you can’t believe that you came.
“Because back home you don’t have that. It’s really bad; resources and conditions are really bad.
“When you come here you see everything and say to yourself, I wouldn’t believe that I came to this level of everything. That motivates you to work hard more.
“Because we were poor with that stuff. We didn’t have great arenas, great locker rooms, great managers compared to (American standards).”
Mirkovic has certainly been motivated this season by the tremendous opportunity presented to him, as he corraled the second-most rebounds by an Illini freshman in program history (243 boards entering the postseason)
He’s also garnered two Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards. While he acknowledged the major step up in class from the Montenegrin ABA to high-major NCAA basketball, Mirkovic also note some of the more talented players that he faced while playing in Eastern Europe.
“Two years ago, when I was 17, I played against guys like Frank Kaminsky, Shabazz Napier, and that experience wise, I would say it’s great,” Mirkovic continued.
“But I think college basketball is I would say more detailed. You got to pay more attention to detail. And there are a lot of more fans, more people watching, watching the games. I would say that this is higher, harder to play for sure.”
On the international level, David Mirkovic represented Montenegro in FIBA youth tournaments in 2022 and 2023. Then, in 2024 he made his debut for the Montenegro Senior National Team at the FIBA EuroBasket Qualifier.
“I would say it’s more like a slow game, like chess,” Mirkovic said of playing his club ball in Montenegro.
“This (college hoops) is more athletic, more running, more physical game. And I would say, I would tell you I played for two years, every home game (in Montenegro), there was like 30 people in the arena. Really, the arena was empty, and that’s probably the biggest difference.”
In 2023, as the youngest player at the 2023 U20 European Championship, Mirkovic averaged 8.9 points and 4.1 rebounds over the course of seven games.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.