Fan favorite David Mirkovic returning to Illinois
Illini fans have a good reason to be optimistic about next season.
#TheRetention has officially kicked off. Wednesday morning, the freshman forward went live on Twitch to deliver the news the Illini faithful had been nervously waiting for: that he’s gonna be back for at least one more year in Orange and Blue. For Illinois fans, Mirkovic’s return immediately provides a sense of optimism surrounding next season.
It also raises the question of whether Mirk’s return will rub off on the rest of the potential returners, and incentivize coming back for guys like the Ivisic twins, Andrej Stojakovic and Jake Davis. It took just one game — the season-opening exhibition matchup against ISU — for the Montenegrin to begin drawing eyes from Illini fans, where he posted a 19-point, 14-rebound double-double. And throughout the season, his stats spoke for themselves.
Weirdly enough, Mirkovic posted the same exact stat line in the official season opener versus Jackson State. Then posted another double-double in the next game against FGCU. And against Colgate?
The freshman finished with 27 points and 21 rebounds. That’s when Illinois knew they found a gem. Game after game, Mirkovic improved.