Illinois’ midseason addition, sophomore forward Toni Bilić, hasn’t been talked about much because he is redshirting this year. Bilić was added to the Illini roster on Dec. 17, 2025, but he’s only practicing with the team for the remainder of the season. The Daily Illini caught up with Bilić on Friday at the Big Ten tournament in Chicago to briefly talk about the start of his Illinois career.
The Daily Illini: How did the process of looking into Illinois and eventually committing here come together?
Toni Bilić: So the decision came, we were working on that this summer with my agent, and he mentioned the possibility of coming to Illinois. Since, obviously, a lot of the Balkan guys here that I’ve played against are here. There were some reasons, difficulties, so I couldn’t come in the summer for this season. But then, when that thing opened up in November for a visit, I came here, took that chance and they decided to sign me. That was it.
The DI: What appeals to you the most about Illinois? What did you like on your visit?
Bilić: I was really blown away by the practice facility. It was just top-notch stuff, quality, whatever you want. Practice gym, the weight lifting, the recovery stuff that you have there, I think. A lot of staff there, they are just here to help you and get you better.
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The DI: Head coach Brad Underwood said you will be working with strength and conditioning coach Adam Fletcher — what has that been like so far?
Bilić: It’s nothing too crazy for now, since it’s like, we are in the middle of the season, it’s beginning to end. But I know when the season ends, there’s a lot of stuff to do, a lot of work.
The DI: What have you learned from competing against your new teammates in practice, especially while playing on the scout team?
Bilić: I think it’s just really important to get a feel for the game, to get a feel for bodies and how they move, how they interact. Just to get acclimated to that, I’ll just get better from that. Obviously, they are some amazing players. They play on a really high level, so I can only get better if I train with them.
The DI: Even though you haven’t played a game yet, what has been the biggest change stylistically from European basketball?
Bilić: Honestly, I think we play a really similar style to European. I think that was the biggest … one of the reasons I also came here, because I was watching some games and I was discussing with my agent, and we really agreed that they kind of played a similar type of basketball. Obviously, we have five European players here, so it is going to be like that. There’s a lot of off-ball movements, stuff like that. Cuts, edges — things that I really am good at in my game. So it is nice to see a team that plays like that, and that can obviously contribute.
The DI: For students or other fans who are going to watch you next year, how would you describe your game, and what can you bring to this team?
Bilić: I’ll describe my game just as a team player. I might not score 30 points, but I’m going to do what my coach says. I’m going to play defense, play offense, make the right decisions, correct plays — help my team win. That’s all I’m about.
@sahil_mittal24
