Iowa Coach Ben McCollum Reveals What Sets Illinois' Offense Apart

Everyone has heard the adage: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In any group setting – business, sports, etc. – to reach that status is the goal of every entity. That is peak synergy. That is potential realized. And in the opinion of one gifted basketball mind, it appears the Illini may be teetering on the edge of that rare air on the offensive end.

Iowa head coach Ben McCollum pays Illinois high praise

“Their team is the ultimate leverage,” Iowa coach Ben McCollum said of Illinois in the aftermath of a 75-69 victory for the Illini. “So, I think they’ve got five elite basketball players. If you put one – and I’m not saying any one of them in particular – but if you put one in a different environment, they may be just solid, just good.

“But when you put five together, they all leverage each other. So when you scout them, you’re paying attention to [David] Mirkovic in the post and his ability to shoot and his ability to pick-and-pop. And then they bring another 7-foot-2 guy [Zvonimir Ivisic] in that can pick-and-pop. And then you’ve got the two downhill guys in [Andrej] Stojakovic and [Kylan] Boswell … and those guys benefit from each other.”

McCollum experienced it firsthand on Sunday, when his Hawkeyes – a stout defensive squad – allowed the Illini to shoot 28-for-57 (49.1 percent) from the field and 10-for-28 (35.7 percent) from long range. Illinois’ 75 points were the most a team has scored on Iowa this season – a testament to the ability of McCollum’s club on that end.

And it’s because of the Illini’s talent, and the coaching staff’s ability to mesh it, that they were able to score at the clip they did. Brad Underwood’s eye for skill and potential is by now understood, but his knack for roster-building – that is, his ability to create a roster of players who elevate one another’s skill sets – is perhaps underrated.

As McCollum discussed, the makeup of Illinois’ personnel allows each player’s respective game to thrive. Mirkovic is shooting 33.3 percent from long range not due only to his shooting ability, but also because of Stojakovic's and Boswell’s ability to attack the rack. The quality of looks Mirkovic gets behind the line is a big reason why he’s connecting on over 30 percent of his long-distance tries.

And that amplification has a ripple effect. Stojakovic and Boswell have those driving lanes in large part because of the ability of Tomislav Ivisic – and Mirkovic and Big Z – to pull opposing rim protectors away from the hoop.

Can anyone stop Andrej Stojaković from getting to the hoop 😮‍💨 @IlliniMBB pic.twitter.com/7oLoNAnks7
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 11, 2026

Here’s another anecdote to back up McCollum’s point: Stojakovic scored 17.9 points on 42.7 percent shooting last year at Cal. The best player on a poor Power 5 conference team, Stojakovic was a volume scorer for the Golden Bears – good, but not great. For an athletic, rim-attacking 6-foot-7 wing, his efficiency from the field at Cal wasn't just medicore – it was unequivocally bad.

Fast-forward to the present day: Stojakovic averages 14.5 points on a sterling 52.1 percent from the field. That isn’t just a great player. That’s perhaps – as McCollum himself said – elite. (Stojakovic’s two-point efficiency has skyrocketed from 47.8 a year ago to 62.6 in the 2025-26 season.)

The growth in Stojakovic’s game? Surely his own improvements are part of the package, but operating within the presence of superb surrounding talent has played a role – and very likely a bigger one than the latter.

It all circles back to Underwood. However questionable his offensive methods may appear to be (the schematic stagnancy and routine scoring droughts), the numbers can't be argued with. The Illini offense is ranked No. 3 in the country (per KenPom), and that’s a testament to Underwood – yes, his recruiting, but also his vision and the environment he has created in Champaign.