Why Tomislav Ivisic will be an All-Big Ten Player in 2026

Tomislav Ivisic will be a focal point for Illinois basketball throughout the 2025-2026 season. The Croatian big man will be entering his second year in the Orange and Blue after a stellar first-year campaign. Despite overcoming Mononucleosis and an ankle injury, Ivisic averaged 13.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. As the season went on it became clear that Ivisic was arguably the most important piece on the roster as he anchored both the offense and defense. In the team’s last seven games, Ivisic shot an incredible 39.3 percent from three-point range.

With a full offseason in Champaign, I fully expect Tomislav Ivisic to take another jump in his game and cement himself as one of college basketball’s best players. There should be no reason that he does not earn All-Big Ten honors at the end of the year.

Better conditioning, More Usage

Tomislav Ivisic did not arrive on the Illini campus until later in the summer of 2024. On top of that, he was given clearance to play games by the NCAA pretty close to the first game of the season. Because of that, Ivisic did not get the full offseason experience at Illinois basketball. He had to rush to get into shape physically, but also to gain chemistry with his new teammates. On top of that, Ivisic missed a chunk of the middle of the season due to mononucleosis, and upon coming back, he injured his ankle yet played through it.

Despite all of that, Tomislav Ivisic was incredibly productive for the Illini and emerged as a focal point on both ends of the floor. Now that he is healthy and able to get into way better shape this offseason, I expect his conditioning to improve by a great deal. As his conditioning improves, the more effective he will be on both sides of the ball. On the offensive side of the ball, it will be interesting to see how he meshes with his twin brother Zvonomir. Both brothers can play inside the paint and outside the paint; however, they have rather different skill sets.

Regardless, Tomislav Ivisic will be a focal point for the Illini and should be the team’s best player.

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