Illinois Must Solve the Tomislav Ivisic Dilemma

Heading into the 2025-26 campaign, Illinois’ Tomislav Ivisic was widely considered a top-three center in college basketball. We, here at Illinois on SI, even made a bold prediction – which, in hindsight, now appears to have been a scorching-hot take – that Ivisic could challenge Purdue’s Braden Smith for the Big Ten Player of the Year award.

To clarify, Ivisic still inarguably has that ability. Although his bid at conference POTY is likely no longer in the cards, Ivisic can still become the Illini’s most valuable player.

But for now, he’s not even hovering in that ballpark. His averages in three Big Ten outings are double-take-inducing – and not in a good way: 3.3 points (3-for-15 shooting), 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 blocks. "Puzzling" hardly begins to describe Ivisic's dropoff. So what gives?

What has led to Tomislav Ivisic's slow start for Illinois in 2025-26?

Our first task: pinpointing the problem. Ivisic, at 7-foot-1, can shoot the cover off the ball, has touch softer than a baby’s bottom, has eyes-in-the-back-of-his-head passing vision and boasts a sturdy 255-pound frame.

The dynamic skill set remains present – so what has changed from a year ago? At least one answer should be obvious enough: The roster – and, in turn, the flow of the entire offense. Ivisic thrives in ball-screen situations – both on the pop and the roll.

He and Kasparas Jakucionis were a potent ball-screen duo, but with Jakucionis out of the picture, the Illini have turned away from near-constant pick-and-roll action. When they do screen on the ball, it’s rarely with Ivisic. Illinois loves guard-to-guard screening action, and it’s been quite successful.

Then there’s wing Andrej Stojakovic getting downhill and attacking, along with freshman forward David Mirkovic playing "Booty Ball." Subsequently, pick-and-roll action with Ivisic is less of a necessity to spur the offense, as is feeding the big man in the post.

As a result, Ivisic has turned into a glorified spot-up shooter, who, in all honestly, looks utterly confused as to what his role is offensively. And in his defense, why wouldn’t he be?

A gifted player with a sublime combination of size and skills, Ivisic being pigeon-holed into a catch-and-shoot role isn’t just a disservice to him but also to the Illini as a whole. Yes, his jumper pulls opposing bigs out of the paint and can be a game-changer for spacing, but at that point, how is Ivisic much different than Jake Davis (all due respect to Davis)? Planting Ivisic on the perimeter completely negates numerous facets of his well-rounded game.

Then again, Illinois has essentially done just that all season, and the offense is rated third-best in the country, per KenPom. It’s hard to argue with those results. The inclination may be to say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it," but there is always room for improvement. A 73-point showing on 39.3 percent shooting from the field against a horrid Penn State defense is Exhibit A. The Illini offense is a lot of things, but consistent isn't one of them.

How the Illini can best position Tomislav Ivisic to flourish

Ivisic can – and should – be Illinois' go-to option in dry spells. Get him in ball screens or post him up on the block. Play through the big man – especially early in contests. Get him involved, because his impact can be immense. It isn't right now, though, so it’s on coach Brad Underwood to make a priority of channeling more of the offense through Ivisic.

“He had a tough night tonight because they doubled him every trip. … No one trusts Tomi more than me,” Underwood said after Ivisic’s scoreless night against Penn State. "It’s a night where they rotated really hard to him shooting it."

A willing passer – and quite an adept one, too – Ivisic facing double teams is by no means a negative for the Illini. Why go away from him if he’s able to draw two and create an advantage? Underwood loves to speak about the importance of creating advantages, and how Illinois’ offense thrives on that. So why turn away from the opportunity?

Additionally, Ivisic needs touches to stay engaged. An active and confident Tomislav Ivisic can wreak havoc on both ends. But that version of the big man doesn’t exist without the Illini going out of their way to involve him.

Humbly, we submit our fix for the Ivisic problem: Don’t disrupt the flow of the offense. Don’t force him the rock. But when you find him with a mismatch in the post, or even just solid position against any defender, you must dump the ball into him. Don’t look him off. Don't pass up the opportunity. Although Underwood can’t directly control that, he can encourage – even demand – it, and he certainly can put Ivisic in the paint more often.

At the end of the day, it’s a coach’s job to find unique, creative ways to best position their players to thrive, along with the team as a whole. The offense is clearly rolling, but if the Illini can get Ivisic more involved and allow him to showcase his diverse skill set, the offensive ceiling only becomes elevated, as will the defense – which will surely benefit from a more confident, alert and involved Ivisic.