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The Illinois Fighting Illini received a major boost at the end of the season when standout freshman big man David Mirkovic announced his intentions to return to school for his sophomore year and bypass the NBA Draft. However, the mood changed radically on Tuesday when the school announced that David Mirkovic had suffered a foot injury and recently underwent surgery.
David Mirkovic initially suffered a left foot injury during an Illinois team workout this past week, and there was no immediate timetable for his potential return, only that he was expected to make a full recovery. The 2026-27 college basketball season is slated to tip off on Nov. 1.
The native of Montenegro was on target for a breakout season after making a big impact as a freshman a year ago. He appeared in 37 games, including six starts, in his first season of college basketball at a little over 29 minutes per game.
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He averaged 13.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists with splits of 48.4 percent shooting from the field, 37.5 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 75.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line. He was Illinois’ third leading scorer last season behind only Keaton Wagler, who is now in the NBA with the LA Clippers, and Andrej Stojakovic who will be back on the team this year.
Mirkovic was also the Fighting Illinis’ leading rebounder and third best passer behind only Wagler and Kylan Boswell in assists. Boswell is also in the NBA now with the Charlotte Hornets.
Illinois is coming off a strong year in which they went 29-8, and finished second in the Big Ten with a 15-5 record. They reached the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season.
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