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.