When it comes to Illinois basketball coach Brad Underwood, who recently signed a six-year $4.4 million contract extension, he goes global. In other words, he makes it a point to recruit international players, and he does so for a reason, according to The Field of 68.
Ultimately, Underwood says he sees something overseas that others don't about the way players approach the game.
“Yeah,” he told The Field of 68. “They care more.” In April, Underwood made a couple of moves that brought three international players to Champaign-Urbana. First, Zvonimir Ivisic transferred from Arkansas to join his brother, Tomislav, both of whom are of Croatian descent.
Then, he brought on David Mirkovic from Montenegro. Shortly thereafter, Underwood got Serbian star Mihailo Petrovic to commit for the 2025-2026 season. Currently, Illinois has six international players on their roster for this season.
Meanwhile, Illinois is looking to rebuild after finishing last season with a 22-13 overall record and a 12-8 conference record in the Big Ten. Ultimately, they lost to Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Overall, players overseas, especially in Europe, rely more heavily on the physicality of the game than on the American front. Plus, there is a greater emphasis on the fundamentals and building a strong team culture.
In America, it is more about individual stardom and style.
The international players who come through Illinois
Those tangibles help explain Underwood's approach to recruiting international players. He is dead set on wanting the emphasis to be on the We ” rather than the Me. Among the global players that have come through Illinois are Kasparas Jakucionis (Lithuania), Will Riley (Canada), Giorgi Bezhanishvili (Georgia), and Kofi Cockburn (Jamaica).
The Miami Heat drafted Jakucionis during the 2025 NBA Draft. He was a 20th pick in the first round. That same draft night, Riley was selected as the 21st pick in the draft by the Utah Jazz.
Obviously, Underwood sees something special.
