Illinois Basketball 2024-25 Awards: Defensive Player of the Year

The Illinois on SI selection for the program's top defensive player of the 2024-25 season might surprise you

Feb 11, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini center Tomislav Ivisic (13) gets a hand from teammate Kylan Boswell (4) during the second half against the UCLA Bruins at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

This week Illinois on SI will announce its 2024-25 men's basketball awards – one each, Monday through Friday – to honor the individual contributions of this past season's Illini.

This past season, Illinois went 22-13 and finished seventh in the Big Ten (12-8) before bowing out in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament and then making a second-round exit in the NCAA Tournament. It wasn't quite the season the Illini were hoping for, but along the way it wasn't hard to find building blocks that could lead the program to higher heights.

Illinois on SI Defensive Player of the Year: Tomislav Ivisic

2024-2025 stats: 13.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.2 blocks per game

Right out of the gate, we're coming at you with a potentially controversial pick. Did Illini guard Kylan Boswell have an excellent defensive season? Absolutely. But Ivisic’s impact on the defensive end, given his role as a rim protector and the last line of defense, was second to none for Illinois.

Ivisic’s basic defensive stats hardly jump off the page, but the advanced numbers tell quite a compelling story. The 7-foot-1 sophomore center ranked in the top 20 in Big Ten defensive rating (No. 14), defensive box plus/minus (No. 8) and defensive win shares (No. 20) – all three of which represented the highest marks among Illini players.

Put in the work on both ends.

Tomi tallied his ninth double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds. And that block 👀 pic.twitter.com/wy6UuNeZiL

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) February 9, 2025

Most importantly, Ivisic’s defensive presence was always felt. Blocked shots can be overrated, with some bigs turning shots back at a high rate but also fouling frequently and taking themselves out or rebounding or second-contest position. Ivisic rotated exceptionally well, deterred countless shots in the paint and was discerning aboutleaving his feet.

Although he struggled at times against the conference's more agile bigs, Ivisic generally gave opposing bigs fits as a post defender, preventing clean looks and rarely allowing himself to be bullied. In his first season of college basketball, Ivisic was a game-changing defensive presence.

Runner-up: Kylan Boswell

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