Mihailo Petrovic’s run at Illinois was brief, and now it’s taking him to the Big East.
The former Fighting Illini guard has transferred to Seton Hall after one season in Champaign, becoming the third of Illinois’ four portal departures to land elsewhere. For a player who never cracked the starting lineup, Petrovic’s numbers were modest: 19 games played, 5.7 minutes per game and 1.6 points. His role was bigger early in the season, but it shrank as the year wore on and Keaton Wagler kept rising in the backcourt.
Petrovic’s departure is easy enough to understand from Illinois’ side. Brad Underwood kept most of a roster that reached the Final Four for the first time since 2005, which is no small feat in the NIL and transfer portal era.
Even after that kind of season, plenty of programs watch pieces scatter. Illinois didn’t.
That doesn’t mean Petrovic wasn’t a memorable part of the mix. He became something of a fan favorite in the media, known for his Chipotle obsession and for crashing an ABC live shot before one of Illinois’ regular-season games.
Seton Hall now gets a guard who, at Illinois, never quite found the right lane. The hope is that the Pirates can get more out of him than the Illini did, though the source of that limited production wasn’t a lack of talent so much as other players simply stepping into bigger roles.
For Illinois, the bigger picture still looks solid. Underwood lost four players to the portal and brought in only one, Stephan Vaaks, but he also held onto key pieces. Senior Andrej Stojacovic returned after testing the NBA draft process, and David Mikovic and Tomislav Ivisic are back in the frontcourt.
There’s also help coming in the form of five-star freshman Quinten Coleman, who could be the Keaton Wagler replacement Illinois needs. So while the portal exits trimmed some depth, Petrovic’s move to Seton Hall doesn’t look like the kind that will keep Underwood up at night.
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For Illinois followers, the most interesting part might be the familiar face already in place. Charlotte still has Coby White, whose game has some overlap with Boswells and who could wind up serving as a useful guide as the former Illini guard settles into the next phase of his career. It is the kind of arrangement that can speed up a young players adjustment, even if the path forward still has a few checkpoints left. [Read more 🡒]