Illinois' Brad Underwood Compares David Mirkovic to Former Iowa State All-American

Illinois' David Mirkovic doesn’t fit into a prototypical hoops category. A 6-foot-9 forward, he isn’t exactly a stretch 4. He’s certainly not solely a post-up player – although not quite a point forward. He’s a unique mixture of all the above.

Given that there isn’t a specific mold that immediately leaps to mind for Mirkovic, drawing a player comparison can be a bit dicey. Yet there is one player – a former All-American, in fact, who is now in his 10th NBA season – who comes to the mind of Illini coach Brad Underwood.

Illinois' Brad Underwood compares David Mirkovic to current NBA player

“I compare him a little bit – because I played against him when he was at Iowa State – he’s a young Georges Niang," Underwood said of Mirkovic while making an appearance on "The Field of 68: After Dark" on Sunday after his club’s road win at Iowa. "He was a point guard growing up that got big.

“He’s an action guy for us. He creates a lot of mismatches. Tonight [against Iowa], he had five assists. And he’s going to make the right play. He had 12 rebounds tonight. He’s had a 20-rebound game. We’re on him all the time to continue to get better defensively, just in his talk. He’s got good instincts. He’s got great hands. He’s long. He plays bigger than he is because of his length. … He’s a motored-up guy. He plays hard every single day. I couldn’t be any more pleased with the way he’s playing and the way he’s growing. And as he continues to grow, our team continues to get better."

And about that comparison? Let’s take a quick look at Niang’s first season at Iowa State. As a 6-foot-8, 230-pound freshman forward (Niang is listed at 6-foot-6 in the NBA), he averaged 12.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists.

Meanwhile, Mirkovic is putting up 12.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Obviously, the rebounding differential sticks out. But aside from that, the similarities are pretty spot-on – and that's before you even get into the aesthetics of playing style.

Niang, just like Mirkovic, wasn’t exactly a quick-twitch athlete back in his college days. Although he had a bit more burst than Mirkovic, Niang relied on his physicality, soft touch around the rim and crafty, unexpected ball-handling package.

Even their jumpers bear a resemblance. You can hardly slide a piece of paper under either Mirkovic’s or Niang’s feet on a vertical jump, and each boasted a relatively unorthodox, near-two-motion shot. (That said, the speed and flow of Niang’s jumper has blossomed during his NBA career.)

Niang, who averaged more than three assists in every college season after his freshman year, was also a gifted passer who consistently made the right read. And by his senior season, it wasn’t just his playmaking that was thriving but Niang’s entire game.

He averaged 20.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists while leading the Big 12 conference at 54.6 percent from the field en route to consensus All-American honors in 2015-16. (Take a look at his NCAA Tournament highlights from that campaign below.)

With Mirkovic, a prospect who undoubtedly needs to prove himself to the fullest extent in college to earn a shot in the NBA, likely poised to stick around this level for some time, it’s safe to say he will have the opportunity to develop – and perhaps even reach his ceiling.

Whether that ceiling truly is All-American status remains to be seen. But given the glimpses – not to mention the full 40-minute stretches – we’ve seen from Mirkovic, it certainly doesn’t seem to be out of the realm of possibility.