The Big Question: Where Does Mihailo Petrovic Belong in Recruiting Rankings?

The Illini are again testing the international waters with Serbian lead guard Mihailo Petrovic, who isn't currently ranked by recruiting services

Feb 25, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illinois head coach Brad Underwood during the second half against the Iowa Hawkeyes at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Prospect rankings are an inexact science. It’s impossible to accurately order the best 15 players, let alone 150, in a specific high school class. The task somehow becomes infinitely more difficult when ranking recruits who haven’t played against comparable competition.

A general idea and some basic conclusions can be drawn when a pair of prospects are pitted against one another in an AAU matchup, or when a handful of top recruits compete in the same league (often the prestigious EYBL). But how can it be assessed where an international recruit figures into the mix? All of which leads us to The Big Question: Where should Illinois’ latest signee Mihailo Petrovic be ranked?

Before we jump in with both feet, let's cover some recruiting ranking backstory on two of Illini coach Brad Underwood’s previous international finds:

Feb 2, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini center Tomislav Ivisic (13) gets a hand from teammate Kasparas Jakucionis (32) during the second half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Kasparas Jakucionis and Tomislav Ivisic

Although 247Sports eventually assigned former Illini guard Kasparas Jakucionis a ranking last fall, the Lithuanian native landed with Illinois well before he was tabbed a four-star prospect. But in the case of Jakucionis, scouts got to see him compete against America’s top amateur recruits in the Nike Hoop Summit. Ultimately, the 6-foot-6 lead guard was rated the nation’s No. 36 recruit (2024).

As for Tomislav Ivisic, the Croatian big man had played in the Adriatic League – just like Petrovic – but hadn’t exactly had a prime opportunity to showcase his abilities against his American peers. Without a ton of context or comparative information with which to form an opinion, 247Sports settled on a No. 52 ranking for Ivisic (also 2024) – which, in hindsight, appears fairly accurate.

What about Mihailo Petrovic?

We can assume that Petrovic will earn a ranking from 247Sports at some point, but as of now he hasn't been assigned one. Here is our best approximation of where Petrovic should land. Let's start with a side-by-side of Petrovic and Ivisic’s stats in the Adriatic League:

Player	Points	Rebounds	Assists	FG%	3PT%
Petrovic	14.3	2.8	7.3	49.5%	33.3%
Ivisic	7.1	3.8	1.3	57.4%	42.3%

It's worth noting that Petrovic is 22 years old, while Ivisic was 20 when compiling those numbers. Still, Petrovic’s age doesn’t factor into his ranking in the class of 2025. Clearly, his experience is an inherent advantage, but rankings are purely based on, subjectively, who the better player is.

Does this mean that if Ivisic were the No. 52 recruit that Petrovic should be top 20? Of course not. Similar to high school basketball, just because Player A averaged 25.0 points (and had a greater impact) while Player B averaged 18.0 points doesn’t automatically make Player A the "better" pick. Player B may have a game that is better suited for college, for example, which brings us back to our Petrovic-Ivisic comparison. (Ivisic’s skill set is perfect for the college game – and especially in Underwood’s system.)

Still, Petrovic’s combination of scoring and playmaking, along with that aforementioned experience, would indisputably put him in the top 100 of any recruiting rankings. If his jumper were a true weapon (1.0 three per game, on 33.3 percent shooting), Petrovic would be a surefire top-50 prospect. But as an only adequate shooter and a so-so defender at best, we’ll slide him into the next tier down and list him as the sixth-best point guard in his class of 2025.

Illinois on SI verdict: Petrovic belongs in the Nos. 50-60 range.

Click here for a full scouting report on Mihailo Petrovic

Illinois picks up one of the best players in the ABA in 22 year old Mihailo Petrovic

The 6’0 PG has been the leader for Mega this year, averaging

14.3 PPG
7.3 APG (2nd in ABA !!)
2.8 RPG
50% FG
34% 3P
70% FT

Elite pro guard with multiple years of eligibility for Illinois pic.twitter.com/6gJliR6Qf2

— nbadraftpoint (@nbadraftpoint) April 22, 2025

More From Illinois on Sports Illustrated:

Illinois Basketball's Best of the Century: No. 8 Luther Head

Kylan Boswell Raves About Illinois Freshman Keaton Wagler: 'He's Cold'

Did Andy Katz Undervalue Illinois Basketball in His Big Ten Preseason Rankings?

Where Does Illinois' Brad Underwood Land in On3's Top Big Ten Coaches?

Landon Davis Boosts Illinois’ 2026 Recruiting Class Into Top 10: What It Means