Illinois Basketball and Brad Underwood's Latest Challenge Is a Welcome One

Illinois basketball and coach Brad Underwood have had to navigate their fair share of choppy waters in 2025-26. First it was the seemingly never-ending injury bug, and then it was nagging defensive woes. Now Underwood and the Illini’s key hurdle is one of the more welcome obstacles a team can face: How do they get guards Brandon Lee and Mihailo Petrovic more involved?

How can Illinois find more minutes for Mihailo Petrovic and Brandon Lee?

Petrovic and Lee, a pair of first-year college hoopers, are battling for the ninth spot in the Illinois rotation as they each seek to be the go-to guard option off the bench. The issue, at least for now, is that deciding the matter is entirely out of their hands.

Take Petrovic, on the heels of an MVP-candidate worthy season in the Adriatic League: A 6-foot-2 lead guard, he has shown flashes of magician-like abilities with the ball in his hands. But what’s his role on this team?

Nov 22, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Mihailo Petrovic (77) drives to the basket during the first half against the Long Island University Sharks at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Freshman guard Keaton Wagler is already running the show – and quite successfully. Veteran guard Kylan Boswell – for both offensive and defensive purposes – isn’t coming off the floor unless Underwood’s hand is forced.

That leaves minimal minutes for Lee, a top-100 recruit in the class of 2025, and Petrovic to fight over. Again, that's no reflection on either player's current abilities or long-term prospects. Just ask Underwood:

“Brandon’s not as much a point guard as Mihailo," Underwood said following his club’s 81-55 victory over Rutgers. "It’s just kind of what the game needs at the time. Brandon’s going to be an unbelievable scorer here. We had him playing [as Rutgers guard Tariq] Francis yesterday in practice, and I was concerned as heck because we couldn’t guard him. And he is an elite scorer. And then he’s a pitbull defensively. He’s got great strength. Where Mihailo is more of a creator. And it’s more about the lineups and the matchups and that. But they’re both doing great. They’re both working, and it just gets hard to play guys a lot of minutes when we’re into a good rotation. But they’re both playing really good.”

So, what is the answer? Illinois has won four straight by an average margin of 28.0 points per game. No reason to overthink it. Here at Illinois on SI, we have been some of Petrovic’s biggest backers (as well as Lee, for that matter), but with the Illini operating at this level, Underwood has no incentive to alter the recipe.

When the time comes that Petrovic and Lee are needed, it will be on Underwood – who played the pair a combined six minutes in a game that the Illini were in full control of for the final 28 minutes – if the pair aren’t prepared. Any opportunity to keep them engaged and motivated – and the Rutgers game certainly was one of them – should be taken full advantage of.

For now, though, Underwood can relish in the comforting thought that his most pressing problem may be determining his ninth man – a role that is almost insulting – and yet should be understandable – to players as gifted as Petrovic and Lee.