Illinois basketball featured in early 2025 rankings

Illinois basketball enters the 2025 season with pretty high expectations. On paper, they have an extremely talented and experienced roster. After incorporating 10 new players before the 2024-2025 season, Brad Underwood tried to balance roster upgrades and retention heading into 2025. He certainly succeeded for the most part, as Kylan Boswell and Tomislav Ivisic decided to return to Champaign to head the ship. On top of that, he’s added some key transfer portal additions who are very used to the college basketball game. However, questions regarding depth are certainly reasonable.

Will the 22-year-old professional basketball player, Mihailo Petrovic, figure out eligibility and arrive on campus soon? Will Ty Rodgers’ absence really affect this team’s rebounding and athleticism? All of those are certainly concerning heading into the season; however, the team’s talented starting five should be a reason for optimism. ESPN’s Jeff Borzello certainly agrees and featured the Illini in a recent piece surrounding his early top 25 for the 2025 season.

Number 16: The Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois basketball landed at number 16 in Borzello’s rankings. Borzello cited wing transfer Andrej Stojakovic as a main reason for optimism. Stojakovic averaged 17.9 points per game with the Cal Golden Bears and will likely be a featured scoring option for the Illini. Returners Kylan Boswell and Tomislav Ivisic also project as top players in the Big Ten for their respective positions. The biggest concern that the Illini will have is backcourt depth, particularly if Mihailo Petrovic’s status continues to remain murky. Without Petrovic, the Illini have Jake Davis and true freshmen, Brandon Lee and Keaton Wagler, as perimeter options.

If Boswell is not playing well or has any kind of injury, the Illini are in a load of trouble. Boswell will need to carry a heavy load and also remain out of foul trouble if the Illini are going to have any kind of success.

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