Inside Illini Basketball

The results of the annual preseason Big Ten media poll came as expected Monday morning. Illinois is the projected favorite to cut down the nets in 2026-27. How many Big Ten titles that might mean — and if that act is repeated in Detroit in April — is what will be decided in the next seven months. Beat writer Scott Richey discusses that and more, including a heavy dose of recruiting, in this week's Inside Illini Basketball.

Bringing back seven players and five key rotation pieces from a Final Four team? That was a big deal for Illinois this offseason. Equally as important, though, was Brad Underwood keeping his entire coaching staff together — from associate head coach Orlando Antigua to even some graduate assistants. Beat writer Scott Richey discusses that and more in this week's Inside Illini Baketball.

Illinois had a quartet of five-star recruits on campus this past weekend. That's what happens when you make the Final Four and now regularly boast one-and-done first-round draft picks. Beat writer Scott Richey spoke with Darius Wabbington, Moussa Kamissoko, Bentley Lusakueno and Dylan Betts last Saturday and breaks down their visit in this week's Inside Illini Basketball.

The start of the 2026-27 college basketball season is within sight. Practices will ramp up at the end of this month ahead of October exhibitions and early November openers across the country. A perfect time for beat writer Scott Richey to weigh in on 10 things he thinks he knows about Illinois in this week's "Inside Illini Basketball."

Past Illinois basketball stars and potential future stars will be on campus this weekend, with the Illini bringing back new Hall of Fame inductees Ayo Dosunmu and James Augustine and expecting five-star guard NaVorro Bowman Jr. for an official visit. Beat writer Scott Richey discusses that and more on a special Labor Day edition of Inside Illini Basketball.

Workouts are underway again at Ubben Basketball Complex with the majority of the team back from their summer vacations save for Tomislav Ivisic, who is stuck in Croatia. Beat writer Scott Richey discusses that, a finalized 15-man roster, the Illinois coaching staff and expectations for Andrej Stojakovic in this week's Inside Illini Basketball.

Summer is officially over with classes resuming this week in Champaign. That means the college basketball season is right around the corner. Practices start in a month, then a series of exhibition games and before you know it that Nov. 2 season opener will be here. Illinois will enter this preseason with good vibes only even as David Mirkovic goes through rehab and recovery after foot surgery. Beat writer Scott Richey discusses where the program stands post-summer in this week's Inside Illini Basketball.

There's still a week left before the 2026-27 Illinois basketball team returns to campus, so the brief summer slowdown mostly continues. Except on the recruiting front, with five-star visitors Brady Pettigrew and Darius Wabbington set to spend some time in Champaign. Roster building has taken on a different level during Brad Underwood's tenure where five-star visitors are now more likely to turn into five-star commits. Beat writer Scott Richey discusses that and more (namely a couple of underrated basketball movies) in this week's Inside Illini Basketball.

Summer workouts wrapped up last week for Illinois, with the players (and coaches) getting a short break before preparation resumes for the 2026-27 season. Fall work that will happen, of course, without David Mirkovic for an indeterminate amount of time while he recovers from early August foot surgery. That could open the door for one of the Illinois freshman to carve out a bigger role moving forward, which beat writer Scott Richey discusses, among several other topics, in this week's Inside Illini Basketball.

Illinois will close out its summer workouts this week. With the new school year is just around the corner we quizzed beat writer Scott Richey on all things Illinois basketball, including the state of this year's team, what's next for some former players and a diversion into the music world with a Meyers Leonard concert coming to Champaign next month. All that and more highlights this week's Inside Illini Basketball.