The NCAA just handed Illinois something it didn't have yesterday: options. A major eligibility rule change could keep key pieces like Andrej Stojakovic and Jake Davis in Champaign longer than anyone expected—and that could change everything.
The NCAA's recent rule change in regards to age-based eligibility may see programs like Illinois benefit the most. Under new rules, athletes will now have five years of competition eligibility. A player's "clock" will begin either on their 19th birthday or once they enroll in college, whichever occurs first.
How this rule change affects Illinois will be something to monitor. Even with the rule change, you can expect Tomislav Ivisic and his brother Zvonimir Ivisic to not return because they will be older than the 23 years old limit this new rule will instate. Head coach Brad Underwood will certainly have to eye replacements for their center combination at the conclusion of this season.
However, who may be eligible to come back has all of a sudden become an intriguing scenario to play out. Andrej Stojakovic was arguably Illinois' most effective player during their run to the Final Four last March. For the year, the 6-foot-7 forward averaged 13.5 points, 5.0 rebounds while shooting 50% from the field. He was arguably Illinois' best attacking threat all season long.
Stojakovic spent the better part of the offseason participating in the NBA Draft Combine, getting in front of NBA scouts and decision-makers. Ultimately he decided to return to Champaign for his senior season in hopes to make another deep March run.
But now, under the new rules, Stojakovic will have the opportunity to return for a fifth season should he want to. Stojakovic and his family clearly have aspirations to play in the NBA, but if he is unable to improve on his draft prospects, maybe a final season in Champaign will be a financial opportunity he can not pass up on.
The other play this new NCAA rule could benefit is forward Jake Davis. Jake Davis was an integral part of last year's Illinois team as well. Davis played in all 37 games, and started 21 of them. For the season he averaged 5.4 points, while providing shooting that the Illini offense prioritizes. Davis shot 40.6% from behind the 3-point line. The forward probably does not have the skill level to play at the NBA level so he also becomes a prime candidate to want to come back to Champaign for another season and reap the financial rewards.
Despite losing last year's leading scorer Keaton Wagler to the NBA, the Illini enter next season with sky-high expectations and many view them as a potential top-5 team when the preseason rankings start rolling out. The focus will clearly be to try to repeat a deep March run as they did last season and with the amount of talent they have returning it is certainly feasible.
But with this recent NCAA ruling, Illini fans may wonder if there will be another opportunity in 2027-28 for one more run. If Illinois can get Stojakovic, Davis, and potentially a sophomore season from freshman Quentin Coleman, the team might be ripe to keep themselves in the conversation of championship contenders.
