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Illinois’ favorite sport – men’s basketball – is carrying on from the Final Four and sailing around nasty waves affecting their most serious rivals.
From Josh Whitman, signed through 2036, and down through the ranks, basketball never looked more sturdy and more financially sound.
Look around and you’ll see that is not the case everywhere. Some examples:
• Michigan’s NCAA champions lost mastermind coach Dusty May to the Dallas Mavericks and three of the NBA’s top 12 draftees. Valued guard L. J Cason, who missed the last 12 Wolverine games due to a knee injury, entered the portal.
Longtime athletic director Warde Manuel will retire at the end of the calendar year after rival factions battled over his future. Michigan has spent $12 million in legal fees dealing with multiple incidents, including actions associated with the ouster of football coach Sherrone Moore. Former quarterback coach Matt Weiss is currently facing federal charges for accessing computer accounts.
• Purdue loses four-year stars Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn and a fourth double-digit scorer in 6-foot-11 Aussie Oscar Cluff. Coach Matt Painter will have two 7-footers but perhaps his weakest roster since the Boilermakers went 17-15 during the 2000-01 season.
Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski retires Dec. 31, leaving a football program that has lost 18 straight Big Ten games since beating IU (yes, Indiana) in 2023.
• Michigan State’s administration has been at highly publicized odds with the school’s regents.
Athletic director J Batt moved to Kentucky, and Kevin Guskiewicz was leaving for the Clemson presidency before basketball coach Tom Izzo helped raise $500,000 to change his mind.
On the court, Izzo must find backboard help to match the 16 rebounds per game provided by departed Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper.
• Wisconsin’s cagers have defeated Illinois three straight but will be underrated again and deserves it, having lost 40 points provided by guards John Blackwell and Nick Boyd. Newly hired athletic director Shawn Eichorst, a former Barry Alvarez aide, will have primary concerns related to coach Luke Fickell and his 17-21 football record.
So, you see, smooth isn’t a word associated with some of the the Illini’s most bitter rivals.
Recruiting nuggets
With Illinois projected high among the national basketball elite, it is time to take a step back and refine those judgments.
Three Illini freshmen were drafted by the NBA in the last two years, creating a feeling that this kind of first-year production might continue. A six-man rookie class offers optimism, but that feeling is essentially local because ESPN, as one example, ranks Illinois recruits 17th in the country and behind six other Big Ten members … and they’re No. 11 overall with 247Sports.
Another Keaton Wagler may be lurking in the Ubben practice facility.
But folks outside Illinois think it is unlikely. The freshmen at Arkansas, Duke, Kansas and Texas are rated much higher.
For example, O’Fallon native Quentin Coleman deserves accolades for spectacular performances this spring, but the Illini guard remains no better than No. 24 among freshmen with ESPN, and a more distant No. 41 with Prep Hoops.
A veteran presence
It is also noteworthy that, with Illinois returning five key veterans and adding transfer Stefan Vaaks from Providence, there is scant room for the plebes to crack through during the 2026-27 season.
Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic are set to share the center position, and David Mirkovic, Jake Davis and Andrej Stojakovic have already proven themselves. Counting Vaaks, that’s six. With Coleman projected among them, the other five freshmen could be fighting for the last slot in an anticipated eight-man rotation.
This will work itself out in time.
Perhaps Brad Underwood will expand to nine. Or injuries, as we’ve seen in the past, may force adjustments.
But we wouldn’t be honest if we expect all six freshmen to remain here and contribute. After all, we just finished a season in which 12 former Illini played elsewhere.
Loren Tate writes for The (Champaign) News-Gazette. He can be reached at [email protected].
