Would Illinois and Brad Underwood Add Former G League Players?

College basketball is weird right now. Very weird. At the start of the 2024-25 season, the best player in the sport was 17 years old. Duke’s Cooper Flagg, who ultimately won the prestigious Naismith Player of the Year award, was supposed to be a high school senior.

Meanwhile, certain teams – we won’t name names – have 22-year-old players who will turn 23 during their sophomore season. (OK, the team is Illinois and the player is Mihailo Petrovic.)

The Illini dominated headlines in the offseason as they added an additional group of overseas players to their roster, which was already laden with professional experience. Few seem terribly upset about David Mirkovic, who is 19 years old, suiting up for Illinois – despite his pro experience. But a soon-to-be 23-year old listed as a sophomore? That has caused some consternation outside Champaign.

Does Illinois have any interest in G League players?

Dec 9, 2025; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood reacts to a call during the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Evidently, Illinois is taking full advantage of the possibilities afforded by NIL and the new landscape of college basketball in general. But, per coach Brad Underwood, even the Illini aren’t in favor of the latest route of adding newcomers: former G League players. (The G League is the NBA's developmental league.)

“Yeah, I don’t like it very much,” Underwood said in a Sunday press conference. "That’s my personal preference, personal opinion. I think it’s wrong. I get it. They’re going to compare us. They’re going to use us as an example. ‘Well, you’ve got European guys that have played professionally.’ They didn’t have any choice over there. These kids [who went to the G League] had a choice. Go to college or go play professional. And I don’t like that. I think that’s wrong."

On Monday, when Illinois takes on Missouri in the Braggin’ Rights contest, No. 10 BYU will face Eastern Washington in a contest that will serve as the collegiate debut of Abdullah Ahmed, a former G Leaguer who signed with the Cougars in November.

BYU’s Abdullah Ahmed, a former G League center, will make his debut with the Cougars on Monday, he told @On3sports.

The 6-foot-10 big man says he’s been given three years of eligibility from the NCAA. https://t.co/W43nqQ8N0K https://t.co/ielsmUI4NR pic.twitter.com/bYcQyUkHga
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) December 20, 2025

As Underwood mentions, Illinois is going to be held up by some as another program that is gaming the old system, such as when it recently signed 20-year-old Croatian forward Toni Bilic as a midseason addition. But there is a difference, as Underwood also explained. Still, Underwood isn't willing to entirely close the door on the G League option – although it’s clear it wouldn’t be his No. 1 choice.

“But if the rules are such that we can take them and continue to take them, we would always look at that opportunity," he said. "But I’m very much in favor of 18-year-olds, high school kids having a great opportunity to play and not being out there against older guys who have played against professional athletes because of their choosing. And that’s something we’ve got to probably fix in our big scheme of things."