What Is Illinois Getting in Toni Bilic? Brad Underwood Discusses Illini Signee

Based on the information readily available – which is minimal, nearly three-year old tape – recent Illinois signee Toni Bilic is not college-basketball-ready. There’s no sugar-coating it. The 6-foot-8 forward doesn’t have a Big-Ten ready body or the necessary athleticism, let alone the all-around package required to excel – or even survive – at this level. (See the video below.)

Then again, as previously mentioned, the film is old. A lot can change in three years, especially for an athlete at the ages in question. And given Brad Underwood’s excellent connection rate on prospects, let’s just give the Illini the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Not only has Underwood very likely identified things we haven’t, but there is also a reason he gets paid millions of dollars per year – and, spoiler, it’s not his X’s and O’s. This is Underwood’s area of expertise, and evidently, he has liked what he has seen from Bilic.

Illinois' Brad Underwood provides deep dive into Toni Bilic's game

“Very, very skilled downhill player. Great, great size. He fits what we’re looking for in terms of the positional size," Underwood said in a Sunday press conference. "I love his IQ and his feel. He is extremely, extremely competitive and plays really hard. And now he can get with [strength and conditioning coach Adam Fletcher] and get in the weight room. He’s got tremendous perimeter skills. He sees the floor. He’s a passer. He’s got a lot of ability to make plays for others, as well as himself. And [he] just needs strength, and this will give him a great opportunity to do that."

As for the process of getting Bilic to campus, which we know can be difficult given Illinois’ experiences with Tomislav Ivisic and Mihailo Petrovic, Underwood isn’t exactly sure when the Croatian forward will arrive.

“Don’t know. … He has been admitted. We’re just waiting on I-20s to be issued," Underwood said. "It gets a little challenging around the holidays. We hope as soon as possible, but right now I don’t have a date on that."

Making a midseason addition isn't unprecedented but definitely isn't commonplace in college basketball. And questions would naturally arise if Illinois were to play Bilic – but that isn’t going to be the case. We’ve seen it before with superstar seniors who elect to wrap up high school early and enroll at their chosen college destination during the semester break.

Joining us midseason from Croatia!

Welcome, Toni: https://t.co/Le8yXVYEkA pic.twitter.com/T1brEprvlz
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) December 17, 2025

That's essentially what's happening here: getting the 20-year-old Bilic in the door early, giving him time to work on his game and body, and preparing him for the 2026-27 season. All in all, a solid use of a remaining roster slot.

“It was always a possibility,” said Underwood on using that final roster spot. “But we weren’t going to feel like we were wasting it. We were going to make sure it was a guy that had a situation like Toni’s, where he could come in and get better and redshirt.”