Illinois Basketball 2025-26 Projected Lineup and Rotation: Live Roster Tracker

Coming off a 2024-25 season in which it finished 22-11 overall and 12-8 (eighth place) in the Big Ten, and were then bounced from the NCAA Tournament in the second round, the Illinois men's basketball program can't be fully satisfied with how things shook out.

A major offseason reload that never quite played out as hoped has been followed by another roster overhaul for the Illini. Departures include three players who ended the season in the starting lineup – NBA Draft entries Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley, and Michigan transfer Morez Johnson Jr. – as well as two high-quality rotation players in Tre White (transferred to Kansas) and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (UNLV).

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Illinois coach Brad Underwood and his staff have doubled down on last year's strategy, replenishing the roster with a virtual parade of European-based newcomers. The difference in this restructuring: Underwood has prioritized experience, even in first-year college players such as Serbian point guard Mihailo Petrovic, a 22-year-old veteran of Europe's Balkan-based professional Adriatic League.

How will the latest experiment play out? We won't have even the faintest idea until well after the last of the leaves have fallen around Champaign and the winds around Campustown turn cold – and, realistically, probably months longer. But we'll closely follow the remainder of Underwood's roster build and continually update our projected Illinois lineup and rotation leading up to and throughout the 2025-26 season.

Illinois' 2025-26 projected lineup and rotation

Last updated: April 25, 2025*

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Latest updates

April 22, 2025: The addition of Serbian point guard Mihailo Petrovic likely ends any consideration to turning over the reins of the offense to Kylan Boswell. That's probably a good thing. Although Boswell is an excellent secondary ball-handler and distributor, asking him to lock up the opponent's best wing scorer and take on lead guard duties night after night would be overkill. A Petrovic-Boswell backcourt will be on the small side, but Boswell plays bigger than his listed 6-foot-2, and 6-foot-6 Ty Rodgers gives Illinois options.

April 7, 2025: Underwood addressed the glaring need for frontcourt depth and interior beef with the signing of 6-foot-9 Montengro forward David Mirkovic. Although just 19, Mirkovic was already playing with (and producing against) pros in the Adriatic League. Because he's a gritty rebounder and a strong screener who can stretch defenses with the three, he could be a better fit as the starter – though early rumblings seem to suggest Zvonimir Ivisic will start alongside brother and center Tomislav.

April 5, 2025: If watching Tomislav share the floor with his twin brother last season when Zvonimir was a member of the Arkansas Razorbacks gave you a little thrill, you're in for a treat: Big T and Big Z will share the same uniform in 2025-26 after Zvonimir's transfer to Illinois, which may give rise to a twin tower frontcourt in Champaign. The 7-foot-2 Zvonimir is taller but a bit leaner than his 7-foot-1 brother, and he lacks Tomislav's interior punch and polish – though he is a legit three-point threat.