During Illinois’ opening round NCAA Tournament rout over Penn, Philadelphia Eagles icon, soon-to-be brother-in-law of Taylor Swift and guy who appears in every third commercial that airs during a NFL game Jason Kelce tweeted about the Illini. “Who knew that Illinois had so many Serbians,” the ESPN talking posted on Twitter. Actually, Illinois only has one Serbian on the roster, point guard Mihailo Petrovic.
Kelce, who is of Croatian descent, probably meant to say “who knew the Illini had so many Balkans?”
2025-26 End of Season Illini Exclusives
Keaton Wagler Mihailo Petrovic Jake Davis Andrej Stojakovic (interview conducted in small group format)
The answer to that question is simply “anybody who pays attention to Illini basketball.” In addition to Petrovic, you have David Mirkovic from Montenegro, Andrej Stojakovic, a Serbian-Greek-American and the Ivisic twins, who are Croatian.
Obviously, the Illini season ended two wins shy of the ultimate goal, but going on a deep run this March, and playing into April was huge for the program in general, and the Illini BasketBalkan component.
Success breeds success, so could this be start of a long-term Balkan-Illini pipeline?
Mihailo Petrovic thinks so.
“A lot of other people from Serbia, from Balkan, they go (staying up) late to watch our games,” Petrovic said in an exclusive with The Sports Bank, following the Final Four loss to UConn.
“Family, friends. Yeah, we put ourselves on the map and I’m proud of this.”
All the added publicity and attention that comes with a Final Four run will only bring more awareness to the Illini program in that part of Europe. And it’s a place where basketball is king.
Petrovic confirmed that basketball is the national game, the most popular sport in Serbia right now.
It all started with Nikola Jokic, three-time NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP, five time All-NBA first team and native of Sombor, Serbia.
“Nikola obviously from Serbia, and I think he put Serbia on the basketball map,” Petrovic continued.
“And Serbia is a basketball country.”
It’s quite possible that we have only seen the start of the “Balkan Illini.”
Petrovic obviously didn’t have the type of season that he had hoped or expected. His role with the team was very minor, and nowhere near the level that he expected.
That could change next season, as Illinois will have a void to fill at point guard. Kylan Boswell is graduating and Keaton Wagler will likely be one-and-done to the NBA.
Mihailo could take on a much larger role next season, but in the meantime, he’s proud of how this season went; on both a team and an individual level.
“I’m proud of this group of guys, and I’m proud of myself,” Petrovic continued.
“Because I think that we had a lot of success this season with this group of guys, coaches, managers.
“I improved myself a lot, as a person, as a basketball player, so I’m grateful.”
And Saturday, despite the unwanted result, was the culmination of a week of activities that were truly a bucket list experience for all involved.
Mihailo Petrovic will never forget taking to the court on Saturday night, in front of the extremely massive crowd, most of which was clad in orange.
“I think it was great experience,” he said.
“Beautiful experience, new environment, a lot of people, 70,000 so it was great.
“When I came to the court in front of 70,000 people, I will remember this all my life.”
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, Ratings and RG. 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.