08-07-2025
Tate Some early July Illini basketball musings
Jul. 8—With Brad Underwood's Illini men's basketball team so dependent on southeastern Europe, we see confusing visa questions growing alongside a mountain of anticipated courtroom dramas.
Payments to international athletes from businesses and third-party donors have always required clever maneuvering, some of it offshore in nature. And now we have new caps on name, image and likeness deals plus distributions to foreign players by the universities, with the same visa limitations ... a field day for attorneys.
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Underwood remains confident but, as yet, Serbian guard Mihailo Petrovic hasn't formerly signed with the UI, and neither he nor Montenegrin forward David Mirkovic has crossed the pond.
Those two are among nearly 2,000 foreign-born men and women players among 364 Division I basketball programs, many with visas hanging over their heads.
Adding to the confusion, some athletes are contacting NIL-savvy attorneys before relinquishing "ownership rights" to their schools, a fresh load dropped squarely on the remuneration table.
For now, remember that NIL limitations didn't go into effect until July 1, so prepaid athletes are receiving pay-for-play amounts that won't be available to them in 2025-26.
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Hits and misses
The United States topped 100 points during six straight games in the FIBA U19 World Cup in Switzerland, with former Illini Morez Johnson Jr. displaying his customary physicality (he was ejected from an early game for a hard foul).
In Sunday's 109-76 title-game defeat of Germany, Johnson was surrounded by mobile gunners who seldom threw the ball to the post, but he speared 10 rebounds and his infrequent touches resulted in 15 points. No, not on jumpers, but via three dunks, a post layup and a put-back, plus free throws. He had seven points and seven rebounds in the semifinal rout of New Zealand.
Johnson's comments there indicated an unhappiness with the UI's substitution pattern, but he could see more of that at Michigan where 7-3 UCLA transfer Aday Mara and 6-9 UAB transfer Yaxel Lendeborg are expected to share the two inside positions with him ... or maybe coach Dusty May will play all three.
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Johnson's subbing concerns reminded of a similar statement by Mt. Zion's prize tight end, JC Anderson, who chose Mississippi in part because he disliked the UI's multi-tight end rotations.
Pondering the past
Kasparas Jakucionis "lost" millions in dropping from the anticipated Top 10 to No. 20 — one slot ahead of former Illini teammate Will Riley — in the NBA draft. But don't despair. Jakucionis signed a juicy four-year contract worth a reported $17 million that far exceeds the regular $2.5 million first-year salary ... with one big "if" ... if Miami picks up the third- and fourth-year options when the income balloons.
Why did Jakucionis fall so far in the draft? Clearly, his late-season play, when NBA scouts were busy comparing him with others (23 international players were drafted).
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In the UI's last seven games, Jakucionis' scoring dropped off to 11.6 points, and he had six turnovers each in the two Big Ten tournament games and the two NCAA tournament games. Previously, in touted matchups, he accumulated 23 turnovers against SEC foes Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri ... 47 miscues in those eight "big games."
His three-point shooting dropped off to 24.5 percent in the final 10 games. And in significant portions of six crucial March games, Underwood asked defensive standout Kylan Boswell to assume much of the playmaking. Boswell averaged 17.6 points in the final seven and had 23 points and six assists in the second-round NCAA loss to Kentucky.
For all of his extraordinary assets, the late-season slump by Jakucionis surely explains NBA concerns.
State pride
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The first-ever Illini basketball team, which handled Champaign High easily but lost to Evanston YMCA, had two regulars from Nebraska in 1905-06.
That was unusual because throughout the 20th century and all the way through John Groce, the overwhelming majority of front-liners hailed from the home state. Of the Top 25 scorers in UI history, only Trent Frazier, Cory Bradford, Kofi Cockburn and Nick Weatherspoon played high school basketball outside the state.
Back in 1937, Illinoisans Lou Boudreau, Harry Combes and Bud Riegel sparked a Big Ten titlist. Jumping ahead to the Whiz Kids, unbeaten in 1943 Big Ten play, the regulars were all-Illini after South Bend's Vic Wukovits graduated in 1942. Combes' great teams in the early 1950s were Illinois-reared, including Champaign's Ted Beach and Rod Fletcher on the 1951 Final Four team.
Lou Henson's Flyin' Illini were all-Illinois in 1989. Lon Kruger and Bill Self, who inherited three quality Peorians, put together Big Ten champions with home-state starting lineups. Bruce Weber's 2005 NCAA runners-up had just two important outsiders, Deon Williams and sub Jack Ingram.
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And so it rolled until in-state talent dwindled — many prep stars leaving like Lemont's Gabe Sularski recently moving to Utah — and Underwood has gone Balkan-strong this time around with Thornton product Ty Rodgers likely sidelined (knee surgery) and Champaign native Boswell prepping in Arizona.
Get used to it. The comfortable basketball world we knew is unrecognizable.
Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at .
