Brad Underwood isn’t forcing David Mirkovic back into the mix, and that patience could pay off for Illinois basketball in a big way.
Mirkovic’s summer injury slowed his start to the new campaign, and the recovery has dragged on long enough that Illinois has had to keep moving without him. But there was a small step forward this week. Underwood told The News-Gazette that Mirkovic was back on the floor for a brief stretch Monday, though the workload was minimal.
“He was literally out there about six minutes, and we needed oxygen, and he needed help,” said Underwood to The News-Gazette.
Even with that progress, the sophomore won’t be available for the team’s first exhibition game against Cincinnati on Saturday. Underwood was clear that there’s no set return date yet.
“No timeline, but will not play this week. I do know that,” Underwood told The News-Gazette.
That means Illinois will open its preseason action without one of its most important pieces. The Cincinnati game is the first glimpse of Illini basketball in nearly seven months, and Mirkovic will be watching from the side as the staff continues to build him back up.
According to the reporting, Mirkovic practiced Monday, but the bigger issue remains his condition. Underwood’s plan is to ease him in rather than push for a fast comeback, and that approach makes sense for both player and team.
There’s no reason to rush a return if it risks setting things back again. Illinois has already spent the last few months adjusting around his absence, which gives the group time to keep developing chemistry while Mirkovic works back toward full strength.
That matters for a roster that figures to need leadership from the upperclassmen in the early going. Mirkovic was a key part of the program last season, and without him on the floor right away, others will have to help steady a relatively young team through the first exhibition stretch.
The more realistic target appears to be the regular season. Illinois opens Nov. 2 against Fairleigh Dickinson, and that looks like the first possible window for Mirkovic to return. The next step after that would be building his minutes against Penn, then continuing that climb into the Nov. 10 matchup with Texas Tech.
If all of that goes according to plan, Illinois could have Mirkovic trending toward full speed just as the schedule starts to demand it. For now, though, the approach is simple: let him heal, let him breathe, and let the rest follow.
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