When you take a glance at Illinois’ 2025-26 roster, it may look more like a EuroLeague team than a typical college basketball team. Tomislav Ivišić, David Mirković, Mihailo Petrović, Zvonimir Ivišić and Andrej Stojaković — all are European-born players pursuing their dream of reaching the NBA by playing college basketball at Illinois.
With this many international players, you would think that Illinois has had a proven track record of success with Europeans. That, however, is not the case. In fact, Illinois really only made its mark with Europeans last season when they brought in Tomislav from Croatia and Lithuanian Kasparas Jakučionis after an intense recruitment process.
Bringing Tomislav to the States was a big splash, but it was less of a surprise, seeing as though Illini assistant coach Orlando Antigua had recruited his twin brother Zvonimir to play college ball at Kentucky the year prior. However, landing Jakučionis was thought of as one of the biggest freshman pick-ups of any major college program.
“Before me, before Tomislav, it wasn’t a lot of European guys coming to Illinois,” Jakučionis told reporters at the NBA Draft Combine on May 14. “That was also my little risky decision to do, but I’m really happy that I made the choice there.”
Jakučionis’ choice to pursue college basketball for a year was uncharacteristic. Most Europeans would stay in their respective home countries or play additional EuroLeague basketball before making the jump to the NBA draft. In Jakučionis’ case though, the appeal of Illinois outweighed the opinion of many that college basketball did not have a track record of helping young Europeans flourish.
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“It was risky based on some people were saying because when I wanted to move to college, to play for college, a lot of people were saying that they don’t (have) success with the European guys and usually they just disappear in college,” Jakučionis said.
Ultimately, Jakučionis was right to go with his gut. As a freshman, the 18-year-old averaged 15 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists. He was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and set the Illinois freshman record with 10 games of 20+ points, while also leading the entire squad in scoring.
Yes, the young star struggled at some points in the season, namely with turnovers. But all in all, it was a season that showed exactly why Jakučionis is about to be a top pick. His maturity at such a young age, both on and off the court, is impressive. His facilitating abilities, knack for making tough shots and fearless attitude are all attributes that bode well for his future at the next level.
“I didn’t believe (the critics),” Jakučionis said. “I still trusted myself. I believe in myself, I just wanted to compete against the best players that had the same dream as me: to go to the NBA.”
Jakučionis had such a focused and mature mindset throughout the year that not only impressed media members, but his own teammates and the coaching staff. Head coach Brad Underwood made multiple comments throughout the season about how Jakučionis acted and played older than his age. For Jakučionis, that attitude has always been there — chase challenging situations in order to learn, then grow from those lessons.
“I like to go to challenges,” Jakučionis said. “That’s why I moved to Barcelona when I just turned 15 because I thought that it would help me grow a lot more as a basketball player and as a person. The same happened with Illinois. I just wanted to make a step forward to keep improving and keep growing.”
Most European players have a similar mindset to Jakučionis. Like him, Mirkovic, both Ivišić brothers and Petrovic have played at a professional level overseas before coming to the United States for collegiate competition. That added experience playing against grown men serves European prospects well when they have to play against high-major college athletes. They are more used to the physicality, have developed a higher on-court IQ and often have a more mature approach to their work. Those attributes are why Illinois was a good fit for Jakučionis and now additional European talent.
“I think the coaching style, playing style fits well,” Jakučionis said. “You have to understand basketball playing at Illinois. You have to have an IQ, understand the game, be dialed in, be coachable and just dialed in on the process.”
Jakučionis’ success is a blueprint for all future Europeans coming to Champaign-Urbana who have dreams of making it to the NBA. Tomislav is a great example of that, having already had a great first season in which he led the team in three-point percentage at 7-foot-1 and was a focal point of the Illini offense (13 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists). He had some hype as a potential second round pick in this year’s draft, but he chose to return to Illinois. One more season of development in the program could lead him to be a real first-round candidate in 2026.
Zvonimir also has NBA draft potential and will look to be more consistent at Illinois after an up-and-down first two years of college in two different programs. Petrović is an MVP candidate in the Adriatic League, while Mirković is one of the most promising young big men in Europe. He is also putting up strong numbers at the pro level for the same team Tomislav was on before moving stateside. They all have potential, and Illinois can most definitely be the stepping stone for them to jump to the NBA if they commit to the process that Jakučionis embraced last season.
“Definitely it will be some adjustments, but I think just believing in themselves, that’s the key,” Jakučionis said. “And trust the process, and everything will come great.”
@sahil_mittal24
