Projecting Illinois Basketball's Starting Lineup Without David Mirkovic

Coach Brad Underwood recently announced that forward David Mirkovic, who has been recovering from foot surgery in early August, is practicing but won’t be active for Illinois’ first exhibition game of the year (at Cincinnati on Saturday), according to Rodney Knuppel of Sporting News.

Obviously, the Illini will be forced to plug another player into the lineup in Mirkovic’s absence. The identity of his replacement may not carry much weight for a game that has no bearing on the official win-loss column, but that changes if Mirkovic's return is further delayed and he misses games in early November. Here is our prediction and breakdown of the situation:

Illinois basketball's projected starting lineup without David Mirkovic

Guard: Stefan Vaaks
Guard: Quentin Coleman
Wing: Andrej Stojakovic
Forward/center: Zvonimir Ivisic
Center: Tomislav Ivisic

The injury to Mirkovic, who typically slots into the power forward spot in Illinois' starting lineup, has left a gaping hole in the frontcourt. The Illini have options, though: go to junior Jason Jakstys for more size and length, slot Jake Davis in at the 3 and bump Stojakovic to an undersized 4 role or – arguably the no-brainer choice – roll out the Twin Towers by inserting Zvonimir Ivisic into the starting five.

The only potential drawback of an all-Ivisic frontcourt: defense. Depending on the matchup, that defensive pairing can be unfathomably good. But if the Illini are facing a mobile, perimeter-oriented 4, they are likely to have problems.

Still, early in the year – be it exhibition matches or the first few regular-season games – would be a great opportunity for the Illini to test out the Ivisic twins on the floor together.

They rarely have shared the court in the past (due mostly likely to the exact defensive concerns we mentioned). But if Tomislav has improved his mobility, as coach Brad Underwood has claimed, then he may be able to survive in pick-and-roll action, which would mitigate some of the worries about ball-screen defense when the Ivisices are sharing the floor.

Still, even if Tomislav’s fluidity and agility have ascended to new levels, it may be a leap to say that he can guard athletic 4s (especially if they can shoot from range, too).

Again, though: There’s no reason not to give it a shot. The ceiling for an Ivisic-twins lineup is off the charts. If it does work, the defensive possibilities are endless, and the offensive options are just as appealing (one of them will always have a mismatch in the post, the Illini could still play five-out if they want, either can be a pick-and-roll screener, etc.).

At the end of the day, though, it shouldn't matter a great deal who is named starter while Mirkovic is on the shelf. Big Z makes the most sense, and he is the Illini's most likely option. But it’ll all come down to matchups.

Underwood and his staff will tailor their late-game lineup to the opposing team’s strengths and weaknesses, so what that looks like from game to game will be entirely dependent on the other team. Illinois, with its deep and diverse personnel, should have the answer every time.