Building Illinois’ Best Starting Five of the Brad Underwood Era

In nearly a decade at Illinois, Brad Underwood has signed and then developed as much talent as any coach in the program’s long history. In the past three years alone, the Illini have produced four first-round picks – two of whom made the cut for the updated edition of the All-Brad Underwood Illinois Starting Five.

Last offseason, we completed this exact exercise and built a stacked unit. But after the Illini made a run to the Final Four in 2026, adjustments must be made.

For this version, we’ll have two caveats: First, a player must have finished his collegiate career, or be in the midst of it, at Illinois. (Unfortunately, that knocks out Coleman Hawkins, a four-year Illini who completed his career at Kansas State and had been the power forward on the squad we built last year.) Secondly, we’re considering each player’s ability in their final (or most recent) season at Illinois.

The (updated) All-Brad Underwood Illinois Starting Five

Feb 16, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) shoots against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at the State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

Guard: Ayo Dosunmu

Final-season stats (2020-21): 20.1 points (39.0 percent from three), 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists

Guard: Keaton Wagler

Final-season stats (2025-26): 17.9 points (39.7 percent from three), 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists

Wing: Terrence Shannon Jr.

Final-season stats (2023-24): 23.0 points (36.2 percent from three), 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists

Forward: David Mirkovic

Most recent season stats (2025-26): 13.3 points (37.5 percent from three), 8.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists

Center: Kofi Cockburn

Final-season stats (2021-22): 20.9 points (59.3 percent from the field), 10.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks

A few takeaways: This lineup can really score. Creating buckets would not be a problem for these Illini. Even with Cockburn, a non-shooting big, anchoring the interior, spacing wouldn’t suffer, as every other player in this lineup shot at least 36 percent from three and connected on at least one triple per game.

With Dosunmu and Shannon, two of the best transition scorers the college game has seen in the past decade, pushing the pace in the open floor, Illinois’ fastbreak attack would be dominant.

Then Dosunmu and Keaton Wagler could take turns attacking in ball-screen action in the halfcourt, either with Cockburn rolling to the basket or David Mirkovic popping out to the three-point line. And, of course, the Illini could also play through Cockburn in the post.

Defensively, the size and length of Dosunmu, Wagler and Shannon would swarm opposing perimeter attacks, stifling passing lanes and shutting down driving lanes. Meanwhile, Cockburn would stonewall any interior attacks, ensuring Illinois wasn’t left vulnerable against an elite back-to-the-basket big.

The only weakness: pick-and-roll defense. Cockburn, as he often was in his college days, would be hunted in ball-screen action on defense. And Mirkovic’s ability to effectively guard active and athletic fours would also be a key determinant on that end.

Illinois’ frontcourt defense – especially against teams without a traditional big – would be a potential concern in this lineup. Both Mirkovic and Cockburn are plus defenders, but their roles are fairly pigeon-holed on that end and neither is particularly versatile (although Mirkovic appears to be trending that way for the 2026-27 season).

But again, the trio of Dosunmu, Wagler and Shannon would be a virtually impenetrable wall on the perimeter, and Mirkovic and Cockburn would still thrive in most matchups. At the very least, the two Illini bigs would survive in almost any scenario. And in case it wasn’t already crystal clear, this lineup would shape up as the greatest offensive unit that college basketball has ever seen – and probably by a country mile.

Although this is mostly an exercise in entertainment, it’s also a reminder of the shift that has occurred since Underwood took over in Champaign. The talent the program has tapped into has reached unprecedented levels, and the only sticking point – Underwood’s inability to get the squad over the hump despite his deep arsenal of weapons – was successfully hurdled in 2026.

Now the Illini just need that ever-elusive national title. And Underwood has made it abundantly clear that he can be the guy to lead Illinois to that very feat.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/illinois as Building Illinois’ Best Starting Five of the Brad Underwood Era.

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