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Nice friendly story about the five guys. Praises coaches Antigua and Anderson for working Europe.

Every summer, the assistants make their way across the pond, and Underwood even sent Antigua and Alexander on a trip midseason this year. From Dec. 14 to Dec. 22, between a home loss to Nebraska and the Braggin’ Rights win over Missouri, the pair visited Spain, Serbia and Lithuania, checking in on five prospects the Illini are pursuing.

“I don’t know if anybody else did what we do. We get a chance to work for a boss that allows us to go do those things,” Antigua said. “That goes a long way in terms of the relationship building and people seeing you in their country.”

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The [Ivisic] brothers were both represented by Misko Raznatovic, who also represents Jokić and has become the most well-known international agent. Antigua worked with Raznatovic to help get both Ivisic brothers to college basketball, and last April at the Final Four in San Antonio, he introduced Underwood to Raznatovic. They hit it off immediately.

Both straight shooters, Antigua said. “You know where you stand. There’s no BS, and there’s a lot of mutual respect for the way each of them handle themselves.”

That meeting opened the floodgates. The Illini needed a big man — freshman Morez Johnson Jr. had hit the portal a week before the Final Four — and Zvonimir was available as a transfer from Arkansas. With Tomislav’s blessing, Underwood decided to pursue. On April 6 — the Sunday of the Final Four — Zvonimir committed.

“I saw how much my brother improved,” Zvonimir said. “I know how he was before he came to Illinois, and then you see him a year later — 10 times stronger, 10 times faster than he was, 10 times more confident than he ever was.”

Mirkovic had been keeping tabs on Tomislav, his former teammate with SC Derby in Montenegro, and asked him questions about what it was like at Illinois. Tomislav was also giving his coaches the scouting report on his former teammate.

“Maybe exaggerated a little bit,” he said, “because I really wanted him to come here.”

At the end of March, Raznatovic called Mirkovic and his parents and told him he was set to go to the Illini.

“I didn’t ask for any other offers or anything else,” Mirkovic said. “I said, ‘Yeah, I’m ready,’ and that’s it.”

Regarding Mirkovic:

“One of a kind,” Illini senior Kylan Boswell said. “Nothing bothers that kid. He takes things serious, but nothing bothers him.”

“You can call him the worst things, he’ll think it’s a joke,” Stojakovic said. “And I think that’s kind of rubbed off on us when it comes to Underwood coaching us. He can say the worst thing to us and it won’t affect us mentally because everybody else on the team is like, ‘You’re good. He’s just trying to motivate you.’”

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“To what extent he would push me, I didn’t know, but I wanted that,” Stojakovic said. “I would say the only person in my life that’s ever been more harsh on me than Underwood is my dad. Taking it from somebody else in that aspect was something I needed and I wanted for myself.”

Mirkovic had a similar experience, just at a younger age. His mom won two European championships playing for the Yugoslavian national team and also played professionally. When Mirkovic was young, his mom would rent a gym to train him. And what she cared about more than anything else was that he didn’t play soft.

“When I play like that,” he said, “she always tell me that in a really bad way.”

Mirkovic said coaches back home are brutal and will scream the worst things at you.

“They come at you like they want to fight you,” he said, “like fist fight you.”

Underwood is a “cake walk in the park,” he said, comparatively. And he also called him the best coach he’s ever had....