Illinois is ranked No. 3 in the country according to college basketball analytical guru Evan Miyakawa. Miyakawa runs one of the most well-known sites in the sport and is considered one of the best analytical minds in college basketball.
He released a podcast outlining his top 30 teams in the preseason, and I wrote about Illinois’ top-three ranking in a previous piece. Miyakawa also discussed his top players in the sport heading into the season, and three Illini players made the cut.
All three Illinois players ranked inside the top 30 are in the frontcourt. David Mirkovic and the Ivisic twins, Tomislav and Zvonimir, were all ranked among the top 20 players nationally.
Mirkovic is expected to be Illinois’ best player next season, and he is ranked No. 10 nationally with an 8.65 Bayesian Performance Rating (BPR). BPR projects a player’s overall value on the court on a per-possession basis.
“I put more of an emphasis on defense than what you’ll see from most,” said Miyakawa.
Mirkovic is not considered an elite defender, as he ranks as the lowest-rated defender among the players in the top 10. That likely keeps him at No. 10 in Miyakawa’s rankings rather than projecting him as a top-five player in college basketball this season.
Sports Illustrated staff writer Kevin Sweeney joined Miyakawa on his podcast and named David Mirkovic as his No. 1 breakout player in the country.
“I picked him in one of my bold prediction pieces in the summer as the national player of the year. I’m kind of sticking by that. I think he’s that good,” Sweeney said.
Mirkovic could be one of the best big men in college basketball, and the Ivisic twins alongside him give Illinois one of the best frontcourts in the nation.
Tomislav Ivisic is ranked No. 16 nationally in Miyakawa’s rankings with an 8.31 BPR, while his brother Zvonimir is No. 19 with a 7.89 BPR. Zvonimir ranks as the fourth-best defender in the country among Miyakawa’s top 30, behind only Houston’s Joseph Tugler, Louisville’s Flory Bidunga and Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu.
It came as a surprise to Sweeney that Zvonimir was included among the top 20 players, but his value on the defensive end is as good as anyone’s. He should be one of the best rim protectors in the country this season and could once again rank near the top of the nation in block percentage, as he did last year.
Mirkovic and the Ivisic twins give Illinois one of the best frontcourts in the nation this season and should raise the team’s floor. Their ability to dominate the glass and get the ball inside should make the Illini less volatile than they were during the 2024-25 season two years ago.
The three big men helped lead Illinois to a top-three offensive rebounding percentage ranking on KenPom last season, and I expect the Illini to post a similar ranking this year.