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HOUSTON — David Mirkovic moved almost 5,000 miles to start out his faculty basketball profession. Keaton Wagler’s journey was roughly 12 instances shorter from Shawnee, Kan., to Champaign.
But that’s simply in miles traveled.
The similarities truly run deeper than you’d count on between the 6-foot-9 ahead out of Niksic, Montenegro, and the 6-6 guard out of Shawnee, Kan. Something Mirkovic and Wagler found this previous summer season as basketball introduced them collectively in Champaign.
A mix that has propelled Illinois (27-8) into the Elite Eight for the second time in three years.
Brad Underwood’s first journey to the Elite Eight in 2024 got here with a veteran staff construct round a slew of fourth- and fifth-year gamers like Terrence Shannon Jr., Marcus Domask and Coleman Hawkins. The return this March has Wagler and Mirkovic entrance and heart — the Illini’s high two scorers who’re simply as impactful as rebounders and facilitators.
“I found out we have some similarities in our personality,” Mirkovic stated about assembly Wagler this previous summer season. “We’re both Gen-Z.”
“You guys are very much Gen-Z,” Illinois ahead Jake Davis interjected.
“The second thing, we had a lot of similarities basketball wise,” Mirkovic continued. “We are pretty similar players — just different positions. Our understanding and IQ of basketball and our unselfishness and skill level makes us unstoppable.”
That’s been the case for almost all of the 2025-26 season. Wagler wound up Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a consensus Second Team All-American and is averaging 17.7 factors, 5.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists heading into Saturday’s Elite Eight recreation towards Iowa (24-12) set for a 5:09 p.m. tip on the Toyota Center in Houston.
Mirkovic additionally made the All-Big Ten Freshman Team and was an honorable-mention All-Big Ten choice. His NCAA event effort — averages of 16.7 factors, 10.7 rebounds and three assists — have solidified his place as Illinois’ greatest secondary possibility.
Both Wagler and Mirkovic posted a double-double in Thursday’s Sweet 16 win towards Houston. No pair of freshmen teammates had ever accomplished that within the NCAA event. Quite the journey from that summer season get-to-know-you.
“I don’t even know what my first memory was, but definitely my first impression he was a goofy guy,” Wagler stated of Mirkovic. “He likes to mess around, but within practices he’s super competitive. He’s one of the most competitive people I’ve met. He hates losing drills no matter what it is, and I knew we were going to get along after that. I’m competitive. I don’t like to lose.
“I think that we both learned you don’t have to be the most athletic or fast person on the court. You can play at your own pace and still be as good as anyone. We both do the right things, and we both want to win. It doesn’t matter if we score however many points. If we’ve got to go in and pass, get assists and get rebounds, we’ll do that.”
While Wagler and Mirkovic finally turned the second-half catalyst Illinois wanted to tug away from Houston and ship the Cougars packing 21/2 miles again residence, they weren’t at their greatest within the first half. Mirkovic had 5 factors and 6 rebounds on the break but in addition a pair of turnovers. Wagler had 4 factors and 5 rebounds however was taking pictures simply 1 of seven from the sphere.
“I thought there were moments they were sped up and missed some reads that they normally make,” Illinois assistant coach Tyler Underwood stated. “It think it speaks to their character being able to come in at halftime and regroup and understand what they need to do better. They can pick that up so quickly. They learn from their mistakes, and they recover from their mistakes quickly.
“You rarely see them make a mistake and let it lead to another mistake. They don’t compound those. They have a great ability to be in the present moment and let those things go. I think (Thursday) night was a great example of that because I thought both of them left some things out there in the first half they wish they could have back. In the second half, I thought they both played fantastically, in the flow, and just let it rip.”
That’s been the case for Mirkovic and Wagler all through their joint first season at Illinois. The second has hardly ever been too huge. The Illini freshmen have, in truth, embraced the most important ones, like Wagler’s 46-point recreation at Purdue and Mirkovic’s record-setting efficiency within the first spherical of the NCAA event with 29 factors and 17 rebounds towards Penn.
“I think they’re two people that have done a great job of keeping the outside noise out of what they’re consuming, outside of what they’re thinking about,” Illinois ahead Ben Humrichious stated. “Never getting too high. Never getting too low. Two guys who have committed themselves to this program and the success of our program and this team. They’ve made selfless acts.
“It’s been fun the way they’ve grown, adapted and excelled. They deserve the success that they’re having. It’s really fun to celebrate that with them.”
