The Illini basketball team has many new players for this upcoming season, as do many teams across the country in this portal era. The Illini have seven new additions themselves. As with any team adding
multiple new players, some are going to be more impactful than others, especially right away. Today we are going to be discussing an Illinois newcomer who I believe has a good chance to be their most impactful addition.
Mihailo Petrovic, the 6-foot-3 point guard from Serbia, may be just what this Illini offense needs. Last season in the Adriatic League, he was top 10 in the league in points per game with 14.2 points per game and second in the league in assists at 7.3. All while shooting 49% from the field and a respective 33% from deep. It doesn’t seem that the offensive side of this game will be an issue for him, as his tape and numbers scream playmaker. Don’t be surprised if you see him average 5+ assists all season long.
Although the Illini had a first round pick running the table for them last year, I think a guard with skillset could benefit the Illini offense even more than KJ did. Now I must admit I have not been able to find a full game of Petrovic’s, but based on the tape that is available he looks to be more under control as well as a better ball handler. Although we may not need him to average much more than double digit points per game, it seems he is very capable of doing so. If he can have more of a pass first mindset in this offense, he could be the best primary ball handler Illinois has had in some years. I know that would make many fans happy.
Offense definitely seems to be Petrovic’s strength. He looks like a solid three-level scorer and a great offensive point guard. With that being said, measurements of a generous 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds could be an issue, especially when facing bigger Big Ten guards. I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt, but almost all of the tape I have seen is offensive so I do tend to worry about his size. When a good team can attack and expose a weak defender, it can lead to a lot of bad things and I do stress that possibility with him. We likely won’t know if this is true until the upcoming season gets rolling, but it is something to consider when evaluating his potential impact on this team.
This upcoming season is going to be full of unknowns and will likely come with some ups and downs, which seems to be pretty on par with the portal era. With that being said, I am very excited for the impact Mihailo Petrovic is going to have on this team. I think he is the type of tough, skilled, reliable point guard the Illini have been looking for since Trent Frazier graduated. Of course, the college game is different from Europe, especially once Big Ten play rolls around. But, there are still plenty of reasons to be excited for Petrovic and the rest of the new additions for the Illini.
