David Mirković is a unique figure in college basketball, and his presence could lead Illinois to a title. To understand what makes him tick, consider the scene in the Illinois locker room after the team’s win over Iowa in the Sweet 16. The team was celebrating with a squirt gun fight, and Mirković decided to hide on top of the lockers with a blue-and-orange squirt gun, wearing a $32 cowboy hat he had bought on Amazon.
According to head coach Brad Underwood, Mirković was “a 10-year-old with a squirt gun in that moment.” Mirković himself described the scene as though he was a character in a video game, saying “I was just hitting headshots from there.” However, his plan was almost foiled when he realized he had no way to get down from the lockers, and a crew of five Illini had to assemble to help him.
Mirković’s personality is a key part of his appeal, and his teammates and coaches describe him as a “crazy competitor and winner.” He grew up in Montenegro, where his mother, Jelena, played for the Yugoslavian national team in the 1990s. Mirković credits his mother with instilling in him a strong competitive spirit from a young age.
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At 14, Mirković moved to Montenegro’s capital, Podgorica, to train with a better club, SC Derby. He teamed up with the 7-foot-plus twins Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivišić, who became like brothers to him. College basketball was not a common path for European prospects, but with the rise of NIL paydays, U.S. schools started to recruit overseas talent. Illinois emerged as the best fit for Mirković, and he quickly fell in love with the program.
Mirković’s transition to college basketball has been successful, and he has become a key player for the Illini. He has a unique skill set, with the ability to shoot threes effectively, handle the ball, and lead the fast break. However, he lacks elite athletic gifts and has a slightly doughy frame at 250 pounds. Underwood has learned to give Mirković the freedom to impact the game in various ways, and by the end of his freshman year, Mirković was the linchpin of the team.