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Despite still being the second-leading scorer on a team that went to the Final Four, Illini coaches feel Andre Stojakovic can be solid on his increased value when fully heathy.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

April 16, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

GIFFORD — Brad Underwood feels his pitch to get Andrej Stojakovic in the building last spring is completely different than what it is now to keep him in the fold.

After having him experience 33 games with 21 starts this past season that ended in his first NCAA tournament experience and a Final Four trip, the Illini head coach knows what he’s selling to the 6-foot-7 wing is no longer a mystery.

“I think his experience here very much was a positive one and I thought the strides we made were incredible,” Underwood said Wednesday night at Gordyville USA in Gifford, Ill. “I couldn’t be more pleased with him, especially with the fact that he missed seven weeks.”

However, as he looked at the 21-year-old guard sitting with his 2025-26 Illini teammates at Gordyville USA while doing Underwood did a local media session before for annual Coaches vs. Cancer fundraiser Wednesday night in Gifford, Ill., the Illini head coach remains exceedingly confident Stojakovic to return to Illinois for the 2026-27 season. Despite being the second-leading scorer and a very productive player during the Illini’s Final Four run, 21-year-old can still answer an underlying question about his value with this program because he likely was never fully healthy. Stojakovic injured his knee in preseason practices and then missed two games due to the final of multiple severe ankle injuries.

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys […]

Illinois forward David Mirkovic used Twitch to announce what he called Wednesday night his “inevitable” return based on his initial deal and his feelings about his first year of college basketball.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

April 15, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

GIFFORD — If nothing else was accomplished Wednesday afternoon, David Mirkovic had fun informing his 62-year-old head coach what exactly Twitch was.

The 20-year-old forward used the online streaming platform to announce to more than 3,000 people what he essentially knew would be the result when he arrived at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Mirkovic announced his return to the Illini basketball roster for the 2026-27 season earlier Wednesday afternoon and then confirmed essentially why it was an inevitable reality.

In a media session before the annual Coaches vs. Cancer event hosted by Illinois head coach Brad Underwood at Gordyville USA in Gifford, Ill., Mirkovic answered an IlliniGuys.com question regarding whether he signed a multi-year with Illinois last summer saying “basically yes”.

The details Mirkovic described in his answer what should be described as a 1-year contract with Illinois with a player option that the 6-foot-9 All-Big Ten honoree and Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection knew he would be executing early into his first season of college basketball.

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer April 15, […]

By IlliniGuys Staff April 15, 2026 (Cover photo courtesy […]

By IlliniGuys Staff April 15, 2026 (Cover photo courtesy […]

Illinois wide receivers coach Justin Stepp can’t wait for Collin Dixon to emerge as a go-to target in this 2026 offensive scheme.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

April 14, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN — Entering the spring before his fourth season at Illinois, the one thing Illinois wide receivers coach Justin Stepp can guarantee is Collin Dixon is going to consistently be on the football field but it’s the where part that is still being figured out.

“Collin Dixon is an expert in everything of this offense,” Stepp said Monday in a media session inside the Smith Center. “I promise he knows it better than I do. Collin Dixon can play all three spots.”

The positional versatility of being able to play all three of the wide receiver positions inside Barry Lunney Jr.’s 11 personnel offensive scheme has been the key to Dixon, a 6-foot-1 and 215-pound target, getting 23 starts over the last two seasons and he’ll be expected to take one of those starting roles entering the 2026 season.
Dixon, who redshirted his first season at Illinois to learn the offense and get his body physically able to withstand the physicality that Bielema requires out of his wide receivers, has spent the last two seasons being a jack of all trades type receiver in Champaign.

Dixon finished the 2025 campaign with 35 receptions for 548 receiving yards and five touchdowns on the season, which was tied for the team lead. However, instead of trying to get him expertise in one role, Stepp believes Dixon’s versatility is his best weapon to staying on the field as Illinois has brought in several less productive but high upside options from the transfer portal this offseason.

Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular April 14, 2026 Illini […]

Zeno Jo, IlliniGuys Staff Writer April 13, 2026 CHAMPAIGN, […]

By IlliniGuys Staff

April 13, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

Illinois forward Cearah Parchment is coming off a tremendous first collegiate season in which she established herself not only as a leader on the Illini team, but as one of the top players in the nation and a centerpiece as coach Shauna Green looks to build off back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.

She talked with our Larry Smith on the weekly IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular syndicated radio show.

Larry Smith: CeCe, you've had some time now to decompress and take in what was just an amazing ride. Talk about this freshman season and this campaign for the Fighting Illini.

Cearah Parchment: Yeah, I mean, it's been such a great experience. I think that's what's made it great, is the people, like. as you said, like, we're a young team, so that means we had a lot of new people come in, so it wasn't just freshmen who were alone, we had other transfers come in, so it was kind of nice to go through that experience

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Senior Recruiting Analyst

(Cover photo courtesy Providence Friars Basketball)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — This year’s version of “Portal Kombat” looks much different than in recent seasons, and there is a clear reason why: Illinois is fresh off a Final Four run.

On the strength of that, an Elite Eight appearance in 2024, and being the winningest program in the Big Ten conference over the past seven years, the Illini have positioned themselves as one of the top 10 programs in college basketball, a destination where elite players now want to play.

That momentum continued as the Illinois men’s basketball program secured a commitment from one of the top players in the 2026 transfer portal, former Providence standout Stefan Vaaks.

Vaaks arrives in Champaign with an impressive shooting resume that had the coaching staff convinced early in the process.

By IlliniGuys Staff

April 12, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Providence Friars Basketball)

Well, it happened. Keaton Wagler has entered the NBA Draft and his decision is final. It's a fitting result and conclusion to the greatest freshman season in Illini history.

So...now what?

You should know by now that if you have questions, IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy has answers. Brad posts real-time updates several times a day on our premium message boards and delivered the goods last night:

Keaton Wagler had an incredible freshman year as my colleague Larry Smith outlined and, as we expected this morning, he announced his decision today to head to the NBA. Illinois has contingency plans in place, however.

Illinois is in a really good place with John Blackwell, and even better now. Illinois will meet with him on Monday.

By IlliniGuys Staff April 11, 2026 (Cover photo courtesy […]

Illinois point guard Mihailo Petrovic reportedly plans to enter […]

April 10, 2026

Well, it's that time of year - the transfer portal is entering day 4 and the conversations are fast and furious.

It's a little different setup than in the past. Remember the stories of Illinois coach Brad Underwood bypassing practice ahead of the team's Elite Eight clash with UConn because he had to work the phones with the portal already open? They changed the rules and moved the beginning of portal season to Tuesday or the day after the national championship game.

That doesn't mean negotiations weren't already happening behind the scenes - let's not kid ourselves here, but at the very least it allowed the Final Four coaches to try to focus on the task at hand with their teams in Indianapolis.

We've already seen NCAA champion Michigan announce a deal to keep Final Four Most Outstanding Player Elliott Cadeau in place for his senior season and added Tennessee big man JP Estrella.

Illinois' situation differs from the past in that the Illini's theme this spring is all about retention. Those talks continue and they may be getting close to a major addition as well. IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy delivered these goods on Thursday.

For real-time updates, subscribe to IlliniGuys.com and pay attention to our message boards.