Is Mihailo Petrovic Poised to Take Over as Illinois' Lead Guard?

With Illinois’ 2025-26 campaign wrapping up in heartbreaking fashion against UConn in the Final Four on Saturday, it’s time for Illini Nation to let the healing begin and turn the page to the 2026-27 season – especially with transfer action looming (the portal officially opens Tuesday).

But in order to build a plan of attack, a team must first define its needs – a task that may not be a walk in the park for Brad Underwood and the Illini. Sure, they’re set to lose Kylan Boswell and are almost certainly going to see Keaton Wagler depart to the next level, but does that mean their backcourt needs a reset via the portal?

What about Mihailo Petrovic and Brandon Lee, not to mention incoming freshman Quentin Coleman or even Lucas Morillo, the latter of whom stands at 6-foot-7 but is lauded for his guard skills? Although all are potential candidates to take on a starting role in the backcourt, in this space, we’ll focus specifically on Petrovic.

Why Mihailo Petrovic should be Illinois’ lead guard of the future

Despite the brilliance of Wagler, who was an All-American, there wasn’t a more skilled or consistent creator on the squad than Petrovic. The former Adriatic League MVP candidate has a lightning-quick first step, is a magician with the ball and has an uncanny feel for how to manipulate defenses. In his rare minutes during the 2025-26 campaign, Petrovic lived in the paint.

Few players in the country made as much happen as Petrovic in his limited action this past year. Also, his ability to push the pace would add a new dimension to the juggernaut that is Illinois’ offense. With the right pieces, there’s no reason to believe the Illini can’t once again have a top-three offense in the nation, especially if they have a transition attack, which, with Petrovic in control, would be the natural scenario.

🔶 12 PTS
🔶 4 AST
🔶 4-5 FG

Mihailo Petrovic made the most of his 16 minutes in No. 13 @IlliniMBB's win over UTRGV pic.twitter.com/Bwk9Iq8bo3
— Illinois on BTN (@IllinoisOnBTN) November 25, 2025

From an individual scoring standpoint, Petrovic’s ability to get downhill and into the teeth of a defense affords him looks at the basket, while he also appeared to love the midrange – which one can expect to be mostly phased out of his game given Illinois’ penchant for sticking to rim twos or triples.

From deep, he shot just 20.0 percent this year, but on such a small sample size, that number is practically meaningless. Between the eye test and his percentages overseas (33.3 percent), Petrovic is at least a capable long-distance shooter.

Also, there’s a reason he was recruited to Illinois in the first place: ball-screen ability. A maestro in the pick-and-roll – or, more often for the Illini, the pick-and-pop – Petrovic should fit like a glove alongside Tomislav Ivisic, David Mirkovic and Zvonimir Ivisic.

The case against Mihailo Petrovic being Illinois’ guard of the future

He may be listed at 6-foot-3, but the “official” measurement may have been done with Petrovic on his tippy-toes. He is – and this still may be generous – closer to 6-foot-1, and weighs 180 pounds. Not exactly the typical reflection of Underwood’s “positional size” desire.

For the reasons outlined above, Petrovic brings exceptional value. Still, for Illinois to accept a player as undersized as he is – and one who is a liability on the defensive boards – Petrovic must do a lot on the offensive end.

And this past season, he did, technically, do “a lot” in his time on the floor – but that production wasn’t positive often enough. The flashes and ability are present in spades, but Petrovic struggled to put it all together. Everything he put up at the basket rimmed out, he was prone to reckless turnovers and didn’t just play fast – he seemed sped up.

The question: Would Illinois hitch its 2026-27 campaign on the hope that Petrovic sorts everything out going into next season? Or should the Illini just land a proven producer in the portal? The latter is the only right answer.

Especially given the drawbacks of Petrovic’s game (defensive question marks and rebounding issues), the Illini need him to be practically perfect offensively. And it would be ill-advised to mortgage their next season on the fact that he will.

Instead, Illinois woulsd do well to go get Wisconsin’s John Blackwell or Virginia Tech’s Neoklis Avdalas in the transfer portal. Get a player who has done it at the high-major level (or at least mid-major) and build a unit primed for another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.