Illinois Basketball's Balanced Trio Boosts Depth

0:00On March 26th, Andre Stoja Kovic has been a key piece for Illinois basketball this season. The six-foot-seven guards started 10 of 32 games as a freshman at Stanford in the 2023-2024 season, then 28 of 29 at California the next year. He earned 21 straight starts for the fighting Illinois after recovering from a preseason knee issue. Stoja Kovic sprained his ankle on February 7th at Michigan State and sat out two games. Since returning, he's come off the bench. Often entering alongside teammates, Ben Hamrichis and Zavanna Mayor Avisik right at the first media time out. Hamirka's bring solid experience, starting 26 of 35 games for Illinois last season, and all 24 he played the year before at Evansville. Avisik started 19 of 35 contests at Arkansas after bench duty in 15 games during his debut year at Kentucky in the U.S. Trio as offense, defense, and shoplocking while keeping the line up big.

1:01It's created better balance, especially since Stoja Kovic and Kylin Boswell returned from injuries. The strategy has boosted the team's depth, making Illinois more versatile as they push through the late season schedule.