Apr 04, 2026
3 min read
Many European teenagers are now putting their professional careers on hold to play American college basketball, including players who chose to play at Illinois.They are now in the Final Four.
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood knew something needed to change.He led nine different teams to the NCAA tournament before this season, but none made it past the Elite Eight.His teams were always championship contenders, but they weren't good enough to make the jump.
Then he called Miško Ražnatović.
Ražnatović, a 59-year-old Serbian, is one of the most powerful agents in basketball.He represents many of Europe's top players and professionals, including Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić, three-time NBA MVP.Ražnatović told Underwood that he had several players from the Balkans that he was interested in.
Underwood doesn't want just one.She wants them all.
"It's unusual five, six guys from Eastern Europe," said Ražnatović to NBC News."[Underwood] said, 'In the GBA, Eastern European players, and European players in general, in recent years there has been dominance, like Jokić or [Luka] Dončić, so why shouldn't we do the same in college?'"
"Of course, I liked the idea...I preferred Illinois to the boys. At the end of the day, all five of us ended up there," Ražnatovicius said.
He named David Mirkovic, Mihailo Petrovic, Zvonimir Ivicic, Tomislav Ivicic and Tony Bilic as five of his clients who all chose to attend Illinois.Along with Andrii Stojakovic, the Greek-Serbian-American son of legendary NBA point guard Peja Stjakovic, Underwood's roster boasts an international mix unlike any other in college basketball history.
And on Saturday, they will face UConn for a spot in the national championship.
"It's a very good and fitting marriage," Underwood said at a recent press conference."So we're going to continue to do that. I think others are going to continue to migrate there and continue to try to recruit those guys."
While these aren't the only factors in Illinois' success this season - rookie star Keaton Wagler (of Shawnee, Kansas) and senior Kylan Boswell (Champaign, Ill.) were major influences - it's safe to say that the arrival of the Balkan Five has made a big difference.This group accounts for 53.9% of the team's points and 57.4% of the rebounds this season.
This has never happened in the last five years.
For decades, the best European teenage players often toured American colleges to play professional basketball before entering the NBA draft.When one path offered money and the other offered scholarships, it was a very easy choice.
But thanks to the introduction of the NIL in 2021, which allows student-athletes to be compensated for their names, images and likenesses, that all changed.
"The NIL has opened the floodgates for international players to come here because they can literally make more money," ESPN basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla told NBC News.They can make more money in a year or two than any of them would make in 10 years in a professional career in Europe.
He added that in the FIBAEurope under-18 and under-20 tournaments, “you will find over 100 schools in League A watching the games.
College supporters, especially the recent success of programs like Illinois, have no problem passing a bill that would bring elite international talent to campus.Frascilla points out that many Eastern European players have more experience at the same age, so they are more prepared than the average American student.
"These are all young players who have come through the club system where they are playing against the good guys," he said.
The two younger brothers, Petrović, Mirković and Ivišić, were interested in veteran players in the prestigious Adriatic League before coming to Illinois.Mirković, for example, played for SC Derby in Montenegro last year when he was 18.The leading scorer on the team was Eric Neal, who was 29 years old at the time.
"They play with older men, 30 or 32-year-old players who have NBA experience," Ranatočić said."You get experience after you fight those guys. And then, when you play with people your age, you have an advantage."
Once they are in college, with ZERO money in their pockets, they don't want to leave.
Raznatovic, who has been a customer for over 30 years, has seen a huge change in his customers.
He says the NBA draft used to be a big deal for his company.In 2016, for example, he represented six players drafted, including Ivic Zubac, the current Indianapolis Pacers center.But for the second year in a row, he doesn't even expect to attend the event.
The Final Four is more important.
"Nobody wants to go to record," Ražnatović said, "Everyone is suspended, suspended, suspended and wants to be in college. So even my business has changed."
He said college coaches always focus on individual prospects.The difference now is they want a group of players like the one Illinois got.
“It will be my strategy to try to put two or three people together in the team."Because I believe it will help them adjust," he said. "There's one college that's already accepting three of our guys [next season], so that might be a trend in the future."
Mirković echoed his agent's feelings.
"When you move to the other side of the world, someone who speaks your language and went to college is important," he told the Associated Press."It's very easy. You feel like home."
