Illinois will have to open the season without its preseason All-American.
Brad Underwood said Sunday that David Mirkovic will not play Monday against Fairleigh Dickinson, and the update on his return got even murkier. Mirkovic had already been dealing with a foot injury, but Underwood revealed he has now had appendicitis as well.
“Obviously, Mirk (David Mirkovic) is going to be out. He has had a continued setback, as he had appendicitis, his appendix removed last night.”
Underwood did not have a timetable for when Mirkovic might be back.
“We don’t know what that means. I can’t give you any further update than that. He was in the emergency room having his appendix removed last night.
For Illinois, it’s a frustrating twist for a player expected to be the centerpiece of a team with national championship aspirations. Mirkovic earned preseason All-American recognition after his play in the regular season and postseason last year, and he was supposed to be the lead dog for the No. 3 team in the country.
Now the Illini are left waiting, and the wait could stretch well beyond the opener. A return by December seems like the earliest realistic possibility, and it wouldn’t be surprising if his first game comes when Big Ten play starts in January.
Even with Mirkovic sidelined, Illinois has enough depth to keep moving. Underwood has built a roster that should be able to absorb the loss, at least for now, without falling apart.
Against Fairleigh Dickinson, Andrej Stojakovic and Tomislav Ivisic are expected to start. Both are among the team’s most experienced players and each has a chance to be in the NBA next season. Behind them are Jake Davis, Zvonimir Ivisic, and Stefan Vaaks, all of whom are entering at least their second season.
Underwood also added multiple four- or five-star recruits over the offseason, giving the Illini more options while Mirkovic recovers. Davis led Illinois in three-point shooting last season, and in the three exhibition games, the worst Illinois shot from deep was 35.9%.
The biggest concern right now is rebounding. That area could cause problems at times, but the belief is Illinois should be able to hold steady until Mirkovic returns. The hope is that when he does come back, the Illini are still sitting as a top-20 team.
In Other News...
Michigan State's Opener Revealed A New Look That Could Matter Fast
Tom Izzo wasted little time tinkering with Michigan States opening-night look, and the changes were hard to miss against Quinnipiac. Coen Carr slid into the power forward spot, Jasiah Jervis got the start at shooting guard, and transfer Anton Bonke was in the first five as well, giving the Spartans a different blend than they showed in the exhibition games. It was the kind of early-season adjustment Izzo often makes when he thinks a lineup can be sharpened quickly, and this one had immediate consequences on both ends of the floor.
Carr responded with a lively all-around effort, finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds, a block and a steal in 25 minutes, while Bonke made his presence felt inside with 13 rebounds and 11 points in 19 minutes. For Michigan State, the bigger question now is whether this was simply an opener experiment or the start of a more permanent reshuffling, because the Spartans already have evidence that the new alignment can change the teams balance in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan States Opener Raised An Early Rotation Debate Fans Will Notice
Michigan State opened its season with a look that immediately gave fans something to track beyond the final score. Jesse McCulloch was unavailable because of a head injury, but he was still on the bench, and Tom Izzo answered by rolling out a small-ball starting group of Jeremy Fears, Jasiah Jervis, Jordan Scott, Coen Carr and Anton Bonke. It was a lineup built for speed and versatility, and it signaled that the Spartans are willing to mix things up early as they sort through the frontcourt.
The first half offered a glimpse of why the approach was worth watching, with Fears and Medlock providing key scoring support while Bonke made his presence felt on the glass. Even without McCulloch on the floor, Michigan State found enough balance to take a halftime lead, which only sharpens the conversation about how Izzo wants to use his pieces once the roster is whole again. For a team with real depth questions to answer, the opener already hinted at a rotation debate that could linger. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Just Showed Why Izzo Has A New Early Decision
Michigan State opened the regular season in the kind of lopsided fashion that usually tells you a lot about a team before the schedule gets any harder, rolling past Quinnipiac 96-59 at the Breslin Center. The Spartans looked deep from the start, with Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr and freshman Carlos Medlock all turning in strong showings as Tom Izzos group controlled the game in transition, on the glass and around the basket.
The broader takeaway was less about the final margin than the way Michigan State piled up advantages in the areas that tend to travel once Big Ten play arrives. Fastbreak points, rebounding and post scoring all tilted heavily in the Spartans favor, giving Izzo an early look at a roster that already appears to have multiple ways to beat teams. For a program trying to establish its identity right away, this was the kind of opener that can shape the conversation quickly. [Read more 🡒]