© Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Illinois head basketball coach Brad Underwood will not stop recruiting European prospects to Champaign. He’s in the midst of an offseason recruiting spree with that international theme being heavily noted.
The coach has brought in six new players in his 2025 recruiting class. Four of those future Fighting Illini have ties to the Balkan region of Europe.
Underwood is fresh off of a fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance with the program. His most recent run ended in the Round of 32 with a loss to Kentucky. There was a bit of transfer exodus after the fact.
Five Illini players hopped in the portal. Three were once considered Top 100 prospects. Underwood worked quickly to replace that outgoing talent. Thus, the “Balkan Ballers” were formed.
Illinois has landed commitments from four different players with European ties. All are expected to have immediate impacts in the coming season.
New Illinois basketball additions:
-David Mirkovic
-Mihalio Petrovic
-Zvonimir Ivisic
-Andrej Stojakovic
Mirkovic is a 19-year-old forward from Montenegro. Petrovic is a 22-year-old from Serbia. Each had been playing on the European circuit prior to those Illinois pledges.
Ivisic, meanwhile, is a Croatian transfer from Arkansas. His twin brother, Tomislav, was Illinois’s starting center last season.
Andrej Stojakovic is the latest addition, and the lone player from the quartet from the United States (California). His father, NBA great Peja Stojakovic, hails from Serbia.
Brad Underwood has a new persona.
Brad Underwood via Instagram
The head coach updated his profile picture on social media after landing the latest of his four April commitments. It earned an immediate online response.
“The head coach of Illinois is posting AI-rendered images of himself in Balkan Cold War-era aesthetic after he landed a fifth commitment from player whose last name ends in ‘ic,'” said college basketball writer Matt Norlander on X.
Fans had fun with what’s now been dubbed the Illinois ‘BasketBalkan’ team. They’ve continued to add onto Underwood’s initial photo change.
— Louis Acklin (@lacklin12) April 28, 2025
Some joked that the atmosphere in State Farm Center could look a bit different in 2025. A bit of European flare could soon infiltrate Champaign!
When teams visit Illinois next season pic.twitter.com/nPq5SjgtnG
— ᗩᑎT ᗯᖇIGᕼT (@itsAntWright) April 28, 2025
The Illinois basketball team has undergone massive change this offseason. Its head coach is leaning into the European theme amid a recruiting heater. Brad Underwood hopes to get back to the NCAA Tournament for a sixth consecutive time with his new lineup.
If successful in making a March Madness run, the Balkan Ballers will become a part of Illini lore.