The only thing better than a 7-foot Ivisic brother? Having two of them. The Illini are now reaping the benefits.
On April 15, with a Bud Light in hand, Tomislav Ivisic announced his return to the Illini. It didn’t take much time for his teammate, and twin, Zvonimir to make the same announcement. A team that managed to return so much of its core potentially retained what could be the best center duo in all of college basketball.
A Year of Development
For the first time in their college careers, the Ivisic twins get a full
offseason together. Not FaceTime, not two different countries, an actual summer in the same gym. The ability to have an offseason not distracted by the transfer portal or eligibility regulations is enormous for the development of two players who still haven’t reached their ceiling.
Tomislav is heading into year three in Champaign, someone who’s already been through the eligibility saga, the tonsil surgery, the mono, and has still came out the other side as one of the most reliable bigs in the country. He knows the ins and outs, he knows the Big Ten, and he’s not walking into November trying to figure out where he fits into Tyler Underwood’s system.
Zvonimir is getting something he’s never had: a full offseason with one team. Kentucky, then Arkansas, then an arrival in Champaign. The majority of his college career has been a series of fresh starts. This is the first time he gets a true summer of development, under one of the best strength coaches in the country. Pair that with a brother who already knows the ropes, and you’ve got a center rotation that is very talented, but more importantly, is extremely comfortable.
Two Styles of Game, One Complete Package
To make Bill Raftery yell “Take me to the Balkans, please!”, is a compliment in itself. This is the exact excitement and absurdity that Zvonimir Ivisic brings to the court. A 7-footer who can run the floor like a wing, an asset that opens up Illinois’ offense like no other. Zvonimir possesses some of the best positional athleticism in the country.
While the stats didn’t jump off the page for Zvonimir in 2025-26, he excelled in his role. Going 59-for-71 on two-point attempts, which is good for 83.1%, made him one of the most efficient scorers in the country. If that wasn’t good enough, Big Z had a block rate of 12.9%. That slots him at fourth in the country. An extremely efficient scorer paired with the athleticism to soar over defenders is a toolkit that many centers and teams in the country don’t have, and Illinois has him coming off the bench.
While Zvonimir supplies the highlight reel, Tomislav supplies the engine. He’s one of the pieces Illinois’ offense runs through, a seven-footer who can score with his back to the basket, face up and put it on the floor, or find the open man out of a double team The vision and skills he posses at his size is extremely rare, which makes him a focal point on one of the best offenses in the entire country.
The numbers back up the eye test. Tomislav shot 73% on twos last season, going 81-for-111, good for ninth in the entire country. He also shot nearly 78% from the free-throw line. Ten and a half points and 5.6 rebounds a night won’t knock your socks off, but it’s the type of player who does a little bit of everything without needing to score to make an impact.
Tomislav didn’t shrink on the biggest stage either, he grew into it. He scored in double figures in four of Illinois’ five NCAA Tournament games, averaging 12.8 points and 6.4 rebounds during the Final Four run. An ending like that for a player who has already gone through so much should have Illini fans extremely hopeful for what he has in store.
Oh yeah, they can both shoot.
Just when opposing teams think they’ve figured it out, the Ivisic twins throw one more thing at you: They can really shoot the three ball.
Tomislav knocked down 50 triples last season and Zvonimir wasn’t far behind him. Now somehow, despite completely different styles of play, their percentages landed almost identically, 36.9% for Tomislav and 36.8% for Zvonimir.
Two seven-footers, one who scores like a post player and has vision like a guard, and one who moves like a wing, being able to spread out an offense with the long ball is extraordinarily rare. The different schemes, sets, and personnel Underwood can deploy because of what these two bring to the table is one of the biggest reasons for Illinois’ success.
Please, don’t take this for granted
With everything Illinois brought back this offseason, it’s easy for the Ivisic twins to get lost in the shuffle. Mirkovic is back. Stojakovic is back. New transfers and incoming talent are completing a roster that’s already being talked about as one of the best in the country.
It would be a mistake to take the Ivisic brothers for granted. Illinois basketball has had good centers before. It’s had tall lineups before. It has never had this. Two twin brothers, both seven feet tall, both able to score inside, stretch the floor, and impact winning in completely different ways, both fully healthy and both fully bought in for a third and second year in Champaign.
This is not a story that happens twice.
Two brothers who spent years an ocean and then a conference apart, who finally got to share a court, a locker room, and a Final Four run together, and who decided on their own to see it through one more time. Even without the talent involved, this story should be celebrated.
It just happens that these twins are really, really, really good at basketball.
