Illini Power Rankings: Let's Do It and Be Legends

Every fanbase has its devastating moments. The Browns have The Drive, and The Fumble. The Red Sox, before everyone in Boston turned evil, had the Bill Buckner Game. Until 2006, my Cardinals had Don Denkinger; until 2016, your Cubs had Steve Bartman. These moments resonate in particularly powerful fashion when your team has never reached the mountaintop but come so agonizingly close; one shot, one at-bat, one inch, one second, if anything had gone even slightly different, you wouldn't be wondering if you were doomed to go your entire life without a championship, because you would already have one. Think the Gordon Heyward missed 3-pointer or, more canonically, the Scott Norwood miss. It was supposed to happen ... and it didn't. These moments are what constitute fandom: They are the battle scars--the ones that will never heal.

Illinois has two of these moments. It should be noted that they both happened in the Final Four.

In 1989, it was Sean Higgins. I watched it on our couch in Mattoon with my parents and my little sister. The ball got just over Nick Anderson's fingertips. It was a millimeter. It was that close.

In 2005, it was even worse. It really has been forgotten not just how close that game against North Carolina was in the closing seconds, but how Illinois had stormed back from a 15-point deficit, showing the heart, the relentlessness, we had seen from that team just a week earlier against Arizona (still the greatest moment in Illinois basketball history) and, really, all year. That team, you just knew they were going to find a way. And in the closing seconds, down three, Luther Head found himself wide open with a shot to tie the game. I thought the shot was going down. He thought the shot was going down. Roy Williams thought the shot was going down. There wasn't a single person watching who didn't think the shot was going down.

The shot did not go down.

Each of these moments, heartbreaking, devastating. They were the moments when it was right there, within our grasp. And they were the moments when it slipped away.

And they both happened in the Final Four. Where Illinois is, right now.

In 2020, CBS Sports' Matt Norlander, the best college basketball reporter and analyst working right now, ranked the top 25 men's college basketball programs of all time. Our Illini came in at 15th. But more to the point: Among teams that had never won a national championship, they came in ... first.

Here's Norlander, writing, I remind, at a point when Illinois had not appeared in an NCAA Tournament game in eight years.

This is the highest-ranked team without a national title. With five Final Four appearances but no ring to show, Illinois sidles alongside Houston and Oklahoma for most Final Fours without winning it all. Let this ranking be a reminder that Illinois should never fall far from the top 25 conversation. As it happens, this list is going live in the same year, and within less than two weeks time, of Illinois being a projected top 10 team in college hoops for the first time in 15 seasons. But let us go way back first, as Illinois was a reliable Big Ten bully long before the NCAA Tournament came along, then made the Big Dance (before it was big and before anyone called it a dance) in 1942, 1949, 1951 and 1952. Between 1952 and 1981, Illinois made the NCAAs once. 

Since then, it's been a different story. Thirty tourney appearances in all, regularly pulling in NBA talent, 177 wins over ranked opponents and coaching greats Like Lou Henson, Lon Kruger, Bill Self and Bruce Weber. The 2004-05 team that lost in the title game to North Carolina is one of the best teams to not win it all in the past 40 years. Deron Williams, Dee Brown, Luther Head, Roger Powell and James Augustine set a program record with a 37-2 record, including that unforgettable come-from-behind win in the Elite Eight against Arizona. Illinois' other flirtation with immortality was in 1989, when it lost to Michigan (which it beat twice in the regular season). Consensus All-Americans who were Illini: Bill Hapac, Andy Philip, Walton Kirk, Rod Fletcher, Dee Brown. College basketball is better when Illinois is relevant. We'll see it as a truth this season.   

Since he wrote that, Illinois has not missed the tournament. It has reached the Elite Eight twice. And now it has reached the Final Four.

There was reason to think, after each of those last two Final Four losses, that the best was still yet to come. In 1989, the Illini had made six straight NCAA Tournaments, and had been among the top 10 teams in the AP six of the last seven years. In 2005, the Illini had made five straight tournaments, and seven of the last eight, and they'd reached the Sweet Sixteen four of the previous five seasons. It felt like the beginning.

In both cases, it turned out to be the end. Bruce Pearl's lies would devastate the next few seasons after 1989, not to mention the lives of Lou Henson and his staff; Henson would win only one more tournament game the rest of his career. The wheels would come off the Bruce Weber bus shortly after the 2005 loss; the program would win only three more tournament games over the next 16 years. Those games were as close as we got. Sean Higgins' rebound and Luther Head's miss--or, more accurately, Sean May's ample posterior and the inability of those refs to decipher what in fact a foul is--cost us everything. They're why we're the best program to never win a title. They're why it still hasn't happened ... and maybe why it never will.

There has been so much excitement this week, and why wouldn't there be? Illinois has reached the Final Four. We're in the Final Four! It's one of the happiest things that has happened in my life as a sports fan, and being able to watch them do it with my family, my loved ones, the previous generation of Illini fans and the next one, has been maybe the best part of all of it.

But a Final Four, as wonderful as it is, is not the goal. We have reached the Final Four before ... and it has provided the most heartbreaking moments of all of them. What we have not done--and what we all desperately want to happen in our lifetime, what we may not have a better chance to see than right now--is win a national championship.

This team is good enough. This team is beloved enough. And this team, after all, is already here.

While we are here ... how about we just go out and win the damn thing?

This is the sixth installment of my sporadic Illini Power Rankings this year: Here is the first and here is the second and here is the third and here is the fourth and here is the fifth. As always, these rankings are ridiculous, uninformed and written primarily as a nervous tic--think of them almost like me lancing a boil. There may be nothing I think about more than the Illinois men's basketball team. My name is Will Leitch, a contributing editor at New York magazine, a columnist at The Washington Post and for The Athletic, national correspondent for MLB.com and author of seven books, including the novels How Lucky, The Time Has Come and Lloyd McNeil’s Last Ride.

I also write a free weekly newsletter about parenthood and living through these tumultuous times that you might enjoy: You can find it here. I am (somehow, still) perhaps best known as being the founder of the late sports website Deadspin, though I’d prefer you think of me as “former Daily Illini sports editor” and "forever Mattoon Green Wave."

12, 11. Blake Fagbemi and AJ Redd (previously: 12, 11).

Man did I love this.

Coleman Hawkins is quite incredible, actually, an Illinois player who was good when he played here but very much not universally loved--I do not remember any player Illini fans complained about more--who, when he left, became more popular than he ever was when he was physically on the roster. And I'm OK with that! Hawkins has now become the representative of the last era before the Illini broke through, which makes us wistful and nostalgic for when he was here while also being OK with the fact that he left. That's the strike zone right there. Coleman Hawkins is arguably a bigger part of this program for having left than if he would have stayed. Did you ever imagine a time when a player would transfer right before his team went on a Final Four run, come back to celebrate with them and be welcomed back with such open arms that they let him hold the trophy in the locker room? This is an excellent thing. This is progress. Good for Coleman. Coleman Hawkins was teammates with Tyler Underwood! He gets to be a part of this too, right alongside Ty Rodgers and AJ Redd, the people who have been here the longest. It really was great to have him back, as a reminder of where we were, and how far we've come.

10. Mihailo Petrovic (previously: 10).

I had this memory of Petrovic having his best game of the year against Connecticut in November, which makes sense: It was the last game before Keaton Wagler fully took over the offense, we couldn't get anything going offensively in that game and turned to Mihailo (only in his fourth game as an Illini) to try to get something going and I remember Petrovic making some funky moves at MSG that provided life to an otherwise lifeless game. So I went back and looked up Petrovic's box score from the Connecticut game:

Nope: He was still pretty bad! 1-for-7 from the field, three turnovers, two points, and, when I went back and watched the game this morning, so many defensive lapses he might as well not have been there. It is the game he played the most minutes, which tells you all you need to know about how that game went.

I know that, because of this game and that nightmare Elite Eight game two years ago, Connecticut holds a certain psychic weight over some Illini fans. But that November game may as well been between two different teams entirely. The only way Petrovic gets in at all Saturday, let alone play 18 freaking minutes, is if someone goes on another 30-0 run again. Hopefully it'll be us this time.

By the way, here is your reminder that the second-leading scorer in that UConn Elite Eight loss was ... Amani Hansberry. I wonder if Hansberry will re-enter the transfer portal again this year; it would be his fourth school after Illinois, West Virginia and Virginia Tech. That Connecticut game remains his most recent NCAA Tournament game.

9. Brandon Lee (previously: 9)
Brandon Lee played 11 minutes in that Connecticut game in November and notched exactly one steal and one foul. He is actually one point behind Petrovic for the season, down 31-30. Legitimate question: Who will end their Illini career with more points? Do either of them ever score another one? This is a good reminder, by the way, of just how far Illinois' defense has come. There was a time when Lee was maybe one of your three or four most trusted defenders? This is, uh, no longer the case.

8. Jake Davis (previously: 8)
We're definitely getting bobbleheads of this team now that they've made the Final Four. So who is on them?

Here are the sets of the previous Final Four teams:

1988-89:

All told: That should be Stephen Bardo instead of Marcus Liberty; reportedly Bardo, always a little bit surly about this sort of stuff (I like this about him), wanted to negotiate more about the use of his likeness, so they went with Liberty. If you were to add a seventh, it's probably Larry Smith or Ervin Small, though I just remembered that Andy Kaufmann was on that team and scored 51 points. He didn't play in any tournament games, though Eddie Manske got in two. (Also, I just learned that Kenny Battle didn't start the Louisville game in the Sweet Sixteen? Wild.) Anyway, there are a clear six bobbleheads here if Bardo would have agreed to it, and while I'd love to make an argument for Tyler, his rights fee is just too high.

2004-05:

These are obviously the five, though I'd be fascinated to see what a Nick Smith bobblehead would look like.

But this year's team? If you do five, I think it's probably: Keaton, Boswell, Andrej, Mirk and Tomi. That's a shame, though, because I need a red-afro'd Jake Davis bobblehead in my life. I really wish he would have worn his hair like in his player photo at least once in his Illini career so far. Maybe next year? (He is coming back next year, yes? He better.)

7. Zvonimir Ivisic (previously: 6).
I knew Z was in a 3-point shooting slump, but I'm not sure I realized how bad it was. Since the Northwestern game back on February 4, Zvonomir is 3-for-30 from 3-point range. 3-for-30! Kofi Cockburn never shot a 3-pointer his entire time at Illinois--not one!--but had he shot 30, I think he would have hit at least three of them. The stories from Kentucky and Arkansas about Z fading as the year went along turned out to be true, and it's noteworthy that he only played 12 minutes against both Houston and Iowa (which were probably our best two defensive performances of the year). He's good for one holy-crap moment a game, and he clearly is adored by his teammates (he kind of seems like everybody's big brother). But the way his brother is playing right now, Z's job is to give Tomi a rest, to scare anybody thinking of driving the lane and not to shoot any more threes.

6. Ben Humrichous (previously: 5).
This will be a fascinating game for Humrichous. Defensively, he is going to have to help out in transition, something Connecticut loves to get out in, particularly when they're on one of their runs. But I now wholly trust him on defense. What we could really, really use from Humrichous is one of those games where he goes on an absolute heater from three. We've all been on such a journey with Ben over the last two years: He was supposed to be the next great shooter (remember when people tried to compare him to Dalton Knecht?) and then transformed himself into a terrific defensive player who occasionally hit a three for you. But when he starts draining threes all over the place, like he did in that Oregon blowout last year (when he hit four and scored 18), we are super, super hard to beat. It has been extremely enjoyable to watch Illinois play defense like it has been playing in this tournament, but the easiest, simplest way for the Illini to win any particular game is just to drain a whole bunch of threes. Wouldn't it be amazing if Ben went on a heater? He could win us a game by himself. What a time for it.

And because I get to do this one more time, you know that I must.

5. Kylan Boswell (previously: 3).
It did not go without notice that when Illinois put the Iowa game away, Boswell was on the bench. He is still our best defender, but the gap between him and the suddenly everywhere Andrej is narrowing, and the difference between them offensively (particularly finishing at the rim) is so profound that it Boswell had to sit. It is to Boswell's eternal credit that he has been so chill about first taking a backseat to Keaton and now doing the same to Andrej ... but that doesn't mean I don't think he shouldn't keep doing so.

That said: He sort of plays like a Danny Hurley-coached player, and that sensibility will very much be needed here. He also had his best game of the year against Connecticut back in November. Now, that's who we were back then, the team that needed Boswell to be its best player. That's not who we are now. But if there ever were a Boswell game, it's this one. We keep talking about "legacy" with Boswell. Maybe this is his Roger Powell vs. Louisville game?

4. David Mirkovic (previously: 2).
It's ironic that Mirk has actually lost a little bit of his place over the last week as second focal point of the offense to Tomi, considering that's exactly what Mirk has been doing to him all year. I still think Mirk's game against Penn is one of the best NCAA Tournament games any Illini has ever played, but you don't really need that from him every game: He just needs to grab every rebound he can, bully anyone smaller guarding him and hit wide-open threes when they pop up. I mean only those, by the way: In Houston, Mirk did seem a little bit more antsy than usual, not jittery, exactly, but sped-up in a way you don't always see him. Mirk is like that old line about Jimi Hendrix: He's a live wire with too much current running through him.

I do think, offensively, he could use to slow down a little against Connecticut; he should never have more turnovers than assists, like he did in Houston. Does this sound like criticism? I do not mean it to be. Mirk is one of the more truly joyous players to watch in Illinois memory, and I can't believe we (probably) get to do so for more years to come. What's it going to be like when he matures? Though are we really sure we want David Mirkovic to mature? Do we want this oversized kid to grow up?

3. Andrej Stojakovic (previously: 7).
You know who I've gained a ton of respect for this season? Peja. Here's a great moment from Underwood's interview with Rich Eisen this week, in which Underwood tells the story of Andrej visiting the gym with his dad and Peja randomly picking up a ball and hitting 13 straight 3-pointers.

That is legend stuff, and that's Peja: Anyone who ever watched him play--and certainly every broadcaster did plenty!--will forever be in awe of him. And most dads who are former players, when their kid is balling out, cannot resist the limelight: Lord knows none of us have been able to escape Carlos Boozer for the past month. But Peja? He just sits courtside with his wife and cheers for his son. My friend Alanna was the producer on that pregame feature on Andrej that ran Sunday, and she told me that Peja politely turned down her request for an interview but was an absolute prince about it: He just wanted the story to be about his son, not him.

I mean, when Jeffrey Jordan was here, Michael gave more interviews than Peja has given this year. Peja sure looks like exactly the right kind of sports dad.

As for Andrej, he was the best player in the Iowa game--better than Tomi, better than Keaton, better than Stirtz. I think we still win that game if he doesn't play like that, but I'm glad we never head to find out. I'm not sure Connecticut is the perfect matchup for him the way Houston and Iowa and VCU were, but the way Andrej is playing right now, every game might be the right matchup. Did anyone have any idea he could play defense like this? Andrej is having his absolute star moment right now. And you know what? Would anyone be surprised if he comes back next year shooting about 15 percentage points better from deep? I sure wouldn't be.

2. Tomislav Ivisic (previously: 4)
Connecticut loves to go on runs. It's their whole thing. They ride the vibes of that lunatic coach of theirs, who loses his mind every possession, whatever the score, and it leads to moments when they can just take over games. We saw it two years ago, and the whole world saw it on Sunday. They can overwhelm you: They can make you feel like they've got nine guys on the court.

When that happens, and Illinois just needs to chill things out, there is one play I absolutely, 100 percent trust will work. Toss it to Tomi in the post. And let him cook. Tomi has never felt like a Deon Thomas sort of player, someone who backs down an opponent and just overpowers them; he's too good of a shooter to be limited to that. But this tournament has been a reminder that he's fantastic at it, and why wouldn't he be? He's huge. He can shoot. And he has a very light touch. The two possessions when he scored back-to-back against Iowa were the pivot moment in that game, the moment when Illinois took a deep breath and said, "We're better than these guys. Let's be better than these guys." And then they were.

Connecticut is better than Iowa. But there is a reason Illinois is favored in this game despite Connecticut's experience, brand-name appeal and current momentum: It's because when we have clear advantages. When we execute the way we have been executing, I am not sure they can stop us. And Tomi is at the dead center of that. Heading into the year, he was our best pro prospect and most important player. He's now, obviously, second on both of those lists. But that doesn't mean he can't dominate this game. This is a Tomi game. He's peaking at the exact right time. This is what we were waiting for.

Also: I'll confess I'll wonder the rest of my life what he whispered in Mirk's ear in that postgame interview. I assume it was something dirty.

betr on Instagram: “David Mirkovic couldn’t share the secret 😂”

2,013 likes, 17 comments - betr on March 26, 2026: “David Mirkovic couldn’t share the secret 😂”.

Instagram

1. Keaton Wagler (previously: 1).
Is he Carmelo? Is he our Carmelo?

Keaton obviously doesn't play like Carmelo Anthony, though they do share a certain chillness, like nothing ever really phases them. Keaton isn't the pure scorer that Carmelo was, though he can obviously score; Keaton has more going on in his game but doesn't have that inherent Carmelo inevitability, at least not yet: There was no way to stop Carmelo when he wanted to score. Keaton doesn't think that way, which makes him a far better fit for the modern game than Carmelo would be: Keaton is efficient and cerebral in a way Carmelo wasn't. But I'm not really talking about their personal styles anyway.

(By the way, you can find my Carmelo Anthony story here. Short version: Carmelo was the first person I told I was going to be a father. Even before my parents!)

But Carmelo is The Guy for Syracuse. Syracuse had a storied, proud basketball program, led by one of the winningest coaches in the history of the sport in Jim Boeheim. But for all those wins, all that success, they never quite got over the top. They never won a title despite being at the center of so much of college basketball history.

Then they got one year of Carmelo. And Carmelo, in his one season at Syracuse, took them all the way.

Anthony, in the 2003 title game, nearly had a triple-double: 20 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists. He was the best player on the court, and he was what Syracuse had been waiting for--that last thing they needed. He was the one who got them there. He showed up, won them a championship and then left to have a Hall of Fame NBA career.

Illinois has had some great players, some All-Americans. They've had some players go on to have solid NBA careers. But they've never had someone like Keaton. Keaton Wagler is the best NBA prospect remaining in this tournament, and every game he plays in this tournament boosts his stock a little higher. He is going to be a star in the NBA for a long, long time. Who knows what his ceiling is? He's only 19.

But this is the only time he will be at the University of Illinois. Is he our Carmelo? Is he the star who, in his one year in town, is the one who makes it happen? Is he the legend? Is he the chosen one?

I have been consistently embarrassing in my awe of Keaton Wagler, really, since he first got here. Honestly, it's ridiculous. He's a 19-year-old kid. I'm a 50-year-old man. He was two years away from being born when Luther Head missed that shot.

But I've never seen a player like him. He really does play like nothing could possibly phase him, like he has gone through all this in a previous life, that he has seen this movie before and knows how it ends. If anyone is going to get us there--to give the best college basketball program that hasn't won one that elusive title--I really do think it's him.

This? This right here?

That right there, it's magic. It's eternal. And yeah: It's a legend. And this weekend, it might just be something that lasts forever.

Get your minds right, folks. It is time.

Will Leitch is a columnist for The Athletic, contributing editor at New York Magazine, columnist for The Washington Post, national columnist for MLB, and the founder of the late sports website Deadspin. Subscribe to his free weekly newsletter and buy his novels “How Lucky,” and "The Time Has Come” and Lloyd McNeil’s Last Ride from Harper Books.