Tonight brings the final preseason exhibition for the #3 Illinois Fighting Illini basketball team. They’ll take on the sister school, the UIC Flames, with a very injury-riddled roster. David Mirkovic remains out. Joining him on the sidelines are Zvonimir Ivisic and Andrej Stojakovic. Lincoln Williams is questionable, but there is good news with Tomislav Ivisic. He’s good to go, after having recovered from a knee bruise. There is not much time to get right.
The season opener, at home against Fairleigh Dickinson, will be here on Monday
Illinois Fighting Illini Preseason Series
Projected Illini Depth Chart New, Updated David Mirkovic Feature
Big Ten Power Rankings NBA Mock Draft Quentin Coleman Profile
Also, for more on all these injury situations, check out the latest episode of Locked On Illini below:
David Mirkovic
Illini basketball coach Brad Underwood still maintains that nothing has changed with David Mirkovic. Yes, in spite of the fact that he was practicing, dunking, running and jumping last week, only to be back in a walking boot, and on a scooter when taking in Friday night’s exhibition loss to Baylor.
“Nothing,” Underwood said. “It’s a safety. It’s precautionary… It’s just healing, and it’s what the human body does, and there’s no control over that.
“Nothing has changed at all.”
Underwood also said on Friday night that Mirkovic will be out for a little while. At this point, Mirk will almost certainly miss some of the more crucial early and mid November games against brand name opponents.
Andre Stojakovic and Zvonimir Ivisic
We grouped these two together because Underwood played it very coy on both. He spoke on both without saying much, keeping the information close to the vest.
“I have no idea,” said Underwood. “When it goes to medical stuff, you guys know me by now, you can’t answer those questions. Everything becomes reactive to a buildup and a workout. So I don’t know if they’re two months. I don’t know if they’re two days.
“I don’t worry one second about it. I got to coach the guys that we have, and that’s kind of the approach we take. They come back when they come back.”
Let’s say that both are doubtful for the season opener.
Lincoln Williams
Underwood said “we’ll see what his status is,” in reference to the freshman slipping and falling in practice.
David Mirkovic-Larry Bird Comps
As the actual information present here is a bit thin, or lacking (sorry!), we wanted to give you something more, for taking the time to come and click over here. We want you to feel fulfilled. One anecdote from Big Ten Media Days, while not news, but sillt interesting nonetheless is Underwood’s comparing Mirkovic to Larry Bird.
Why? Because, as Underwood puts it, “he elevates his teammates.”
It’s a compelling comp, given how Mirkovic’s top basketball player role models, both come from the Adriatic (naturally): Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. Mirk said that his head coach showed him some Larry Bird YouTube videos and took some learning lessons from that.
To which a reporter pointed out how Bird was notorious for being an epic trash talker.
“He already had the trash talk down,” Underwood said of Mirkovic. “But it’s probably enhanced a little more now.”
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.