Illinois Basketball's Tomislav Ivisic on What Comes Next

If the Illini can keep the 7-1 center in the fold, he could be the biggest piece of next season's Illinois basketball puzzle

Mar 21, 2025; Milwaukee, WI, USA: Illinois Fighting Illini center Tomislav Ivisic (13) drives to the hoop past Xavier Musketeers guard Dayvion McKnight (20) during the first half at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

MILWAUKEE — Illinois freshman point guard Kasparas Jakucionis sat before his locker with a glazed look in his eyes after Kentucky bounced the Illini from the NCAA Tournament with an 84-75 second-round win.

"I don't know if this was [my] last game or not," Jakucionis said.

But we know better than that, don't we? He's in the first round of every mock draft and as a lottery pick, in most cases. SI's Draft Digest staff had him at No. 7 overall in a mock published Monday. Illini fans can safely consider him gone.

Freshman guard Will Riley is less of a sure thing to go because his position in the first round is far less stable. The same SI mock had him at No. 30, pushing the limits of the first round. A teary Riley didn't bite on the NBA topic in the aftermath of defeat.

Know the thrill of an all out effort. pic.twitter.com/6FVCPiYPvO

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) March 23, 2025

But what about 7-1 center Tomislav Ivisic? Getting another season from him would be a gift for Illinois. Ivisic arguably was the team's best player down the stretch, and he certainly was in two tournament games, averaging 19.5 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks against Xavier and Kentucky.

In the first round, Ivisic set a tournament record for three-pointers made by a 7-footer, with four of them. In the second round, he bettered that with five. That kind of touch — along with his sweet high-post passing — is a heck of a thing to put on video for scouts.

What's next for him?

"I still don't know what's going to happen next year," Ivisic said. "The only thing I can say is I really like it here, I enjoyed it here, and I would like to stay for next year. But I can't say because I don't know what's going to happen."

Other schools can wave money at him, too.

"That's true," he said. "That could happen."

But returning to Illinois and getting further than the second round of the tournament sounded mighty good at first blush.

"Yes, definitely," he said. "It just doesn't feel right to end the season like this."