"How does Brad find these guys?" "Getting out of hand": Fans react as Illinois lands Serbian star Mihailo Petrovic 

Mega Superbet guard Mihailo Petrovic has been one of the stars of the 2024-2025 Adriatic League. On Wednesday, his agent, Misko Raznatovic told ESPN that Petrovic had committed to coach Brad Underwood's Illinois Fighting Illini.

Petrovic joins a strong Balkan core at Illinois which includes Arkansas Razorbacks transfer Zvonimir Ivisic, Tomislav Ivisic and David Mirkovic who were recruited from Montenegro and shares an agent with Petrovic.

Petrovic has averaged 14.3 points on 57.1% shooting from the floor and 33.8% from beyond the arc, 2.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists and is one of the frontrunners for the Adriatic League's MVP. He had his season-best games in the past two weeks tallying 26.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 9.0 assists against Spartak (April 15) and 28.0 points and 13.0 assists against Cibona (April 21).

College basketball fans on X had mixed reactions to Mihailo Petrovic committing to the Fighting Illini.

"How does Brad find these guys? This dude is a beast," one fan said.

Some fans were hyped by Petrovic's signing.

"Why go to Illinois when Petrovic is already killing it in the Adriatic League? NCAA could hurt his pro career," one fan said.

"Does Your Name End In 'Ic'? If Yes, You Are An Illini," another fan said.

"Great news!" one fan said.

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Mihailo Petrovic suits Brad Underwood's Illinois needs

Mihailo Petrovic will replace Lithuanian Kasparas Jakucionis as the Illinois Fighting Illini's starting point guard next season. Jakucionis declared for the 2025 NBA Draft after averaging 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists for the Fighting Illini last season. Petrovic will play alongside returning combo guard Kylan Boswell who thrived alongside Jakucionis last season.

While speaking to reporters last week, Illinois coach Brad Underwood revealed what he was looking for in the transfer portal to address his team's needs ahead of next season.

“We’d like another kind of a combo guard, we need a bigger forward that we’re still trying to work through. … If it happens to be an older guy, that’s great,” Underwood said. “If the portal presents some older guys, then those are obviously things that we want to look at and try to take advantage of. It was really good for us a year ago, so why not repeat the recipe?”

Due to his experience in the Adriatic League, it will be interesting to observe how many years of eligibility Petrovic will have remaining. When Tomislav Ivisic first arrived in Illinois, he was plagued with eligibility issues with the NCAA ruling that he was a sophomore rather than a freshman due to his past professional experience.

Mihailo Petrovic might not be the last Balkan playing for Brad Underwood, according to 247Sports, the Fighting Illini are currently hosting another Balkan star in California Golden Bears wing Andrej Stojakovic who is the son of former NBA star Peja Stojakovic.