Illinois basketball: Why the Ivisic twins are bound for a breakout season

So far this offseason, most of the buzz around Illinois basketball has gone toward the shiny new addition of Stefan Vaaks, who has fans dreaming about upside. Freshman phenom Quentin Coleman already feels like he’s played three great imaginary games in everyone’s head. That’s how offseason hype works.

But while everybody is busy refreshing highlight clips and projecting rotations, it’s worth remembering Illinois already has something almost nobody else in college basketball can throw at opponents:

Two legitimate 7-foot twins with NBA potential.

Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic aren’t just “big for college” bigs either. They’re 7-foot-1 and 7-foot-2 human cheat codes in a Brad Underwood system increasingly obsessed with length, spacing, and versatility. Brad Underwood has spent the last few years building toward massive, interchangeable lineups, and the Ivisic brothers are basically the final evolution of that plan.

Tomislav Ivisic

Tomislav still feels like the more naturally polished offensive player of the two. Even in what felt like a quieter junior season statistically — 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game — he remained ridiculously efficient, finishing over 73 percent of his two-point attempts. 

More importantly, he looked reenergized during Illinois’ Final Four run. Tomislav averaged 12.8 points in the NCAA Tournament and finally started showing the aggressive post-game Illini fans had been begging to see more consistently. When he’s attacking instead of floating, Illinois becomes a completely different offense. With the strong perimeter play of Stefan Vaaks, David Mirkovic, and Andrej Stojakovic, look for Illinois to establish Tomi on the block in more games.

And honestly, a healthy offseason might be the biggest key of all for him.

Last offseason, Tomislav underwent tonsil surgery, which kept him out a majority of the summer. In the season opener, Tomi suffered a knee injury that was initially thought to be serious, but it kept him out of a few games. If Tomislav stays healthy, keeps getting stronger, and carries that March confidence into next season, Illinois basketball may once again have one of the most skilled offensive big men in the Big Ten.

Zvonimir Ivisic

Meanwhile, Zvonimir Ivisic quietly became the defensive eraser Illinois desperately needed.

His 72 blocks and 1.9 blocks per game gave Illinois its best true rim protector in years. Opposing guards would get into the lane, see approximately nine feet of arms waiting for them, and immediately reconsider several life choices. His timing, length, and ability to alter shots completely changed what Illinois could do defensively.

Now comes the next step offensively.

After shooting just 28 percent from three, Zvonimir has to become a more reliable perimeter threat. But honestly, Illini fans would probably love to see him embrace the “you are seven feet tall” portion of basketball a little more, too. There are matchups where he should absolutely be punishing smaller defenders around the basket instead of settling.

If both brothers take those next steps, the “Twin Towers” may end up being the biggest reason the Illini enter next season looking like a legitimate national title contender.

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