David Mirkovic entered Illinois’ 2025 recruiting class as little more than a name to file away for later. The plan was simple enough: let the veterans drive the season, let the freshman grow into his role, and let the depth piece develop.
That’s not how it played out. Mirkovic became one of the Illini’s most productive players and one of the biggest surprises in college basketball.
Now he’s heading into 2026-27 with a full season and another offseason behind him, and the expectation is that his role only gets bigger. The question isn’t whether he matters. It’s whether he’s the best power forward in the Big Ten.
He might be the favorite, but he won’t be alone at the top. A handful of high-end transfers are right there with him, which is why the league’s power forward picture is loaded entering next season. Here are the top five:
Caden Pierce arrives at Purdue with a reputation as one of the most complete forwards around. As a sophomore at Princeton in 2023-24, he won Ivy League Player of the Year honors after stuffing the stat sheet with 16.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, while shooting 54.6 percent from the field, best in the conference.
His numbers dipped to 11.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 2024-25, but a serious ankle injury played a major role in that slide. He then redshirted in 2025-26 before entering the transfer portal.
At West Lafayette, Pierce fits Purdue like a glove. He makes his living cutting, running the floor, cleaning up misses and hitting the occasional three.
He rebounds at a high level on both ends, can create for others and can even run offense if needed. Between his own feel for the game and Matt Painter’s, Pierce should have every chance to thrive efficiently and comfortably in a role that asks him to do a little bit of everything.
Jaylen Crocker-Johnson also proved he could handle the jump to the high-major level. After following Niko Medved from Colorado State to Minnesota, he raised his production across the board as a junior, posting 13.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 blocks per game. He also knocked down 32.3 percent of his threes and averaged 1.8 makes from deep.
Crocker-Johnson brings a versatile offensive package. He can push the ball after grabbing it on the perimeter, knock down catch-and-shoot threes or score inside.
Defensively, he can handle multiple positions and does a strong job on the glass. Minnesota will need all of that if it wants to chase its first NCAA Tournament appearance in eight years.
J.P. Estrella was highly productive in limited minutes for Tennessee in 2025-26, putting up 10.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in just 18.3 minutes per game. The eye-popping part of that line: 2.8 of those rebounds came on the offensive end.
That kind of work on the glass is exactly what Michigan is getting. Estrella should play a similar style in Ann Arbor, only with a larger workload.
He’s a force on the offensive boards, a strong finisher and, at times, a post-up option. He’s also one of the nation’s better lob threats thanks to his bounce, and his touch around the rim is soft enough to make him dangerous with his back to the basket.
His shooting is still developing - he went 4-for-10 from three last season - but that isn’t the core of his game. Michigan is betting on his interior production, rim protection and efficient scoring, and his career field-goal mark of 60.8 percent backs that up.
Aiden Sherrell may have the best two-way case of the group. In 2025-26, he averaged 2.2 blocks in only 23.9 minutes per game and pulled down 6.2 rebounds a night. That kind of rim protection and board work is rare, and it gives Indiana a real anchor inside.
Sherrell has mostly been used as a finisher and lob target on offense, but there’s more in there. He shot 33.8 percent from three last season, making 0.8 per game, and he has shown flashes of being able to attack off the dribble and score with his back to the basket.
If Indiana gives him the freedom he’s expected to get, he could show a more complete game than he has before, even if there are some early bumps along the way. Either way, he projects as one of the league’s most valuable rebounders and interior defenders from the start.
Then there’s Mirkovic, whose value comes from the full package. His shooting is a major weapon: 1.5 threes per game at 37.5 percent.
That alone makes him dangerous, because it forces defenders to leave the lane. But he’s much more than a stretch four.
He’s one of the Big Ten’s best post-up players, using strength, footwork and vision to score or find teammates. He also averaged 8.0 rebounds last season, making him one of the league’s top rebounders as well.
And he can handle the ball, too. Mirkovic can initiate offense, operate in ball screens or even set them himself.
Defensively, he’s fairly versatile despite heavy feet. All of that was true as a freshman.
Now he’s slimmer, more athletic, more experienced and more comfortable, which opens the door for him to level up in just about every area. That puts him firmly in the Big Ten Player of the Year conversation and makes him an All-American candidate.
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Bret Bielema has framed the early part of camp as a matter of handling the daily grind, leaning into the challenge of learning a new team as much as building one. For Illinois, the big question is not just who fills the obvious vacancies, but how quickly so many moving parts can settle into rhythm. In a league where September can expose hesitation fast, the Illini have to use these practices to find more than answers. They have to find an identity. [Read more 🡒]