The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team is preparing for its exhibition game against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday, Oct. 17, leading up to the regular season opener against Fairleigh Dickinson on Nov. 2. 

Star forward David Mirkovic's potential status for that game was updated recently, giving Brad Underwood and his team hope for a full starting lineup against the Knights. 

Mirkovic is coming off of a 13.3 points-per-game season in 2025-26, and has battled a left foot injury that required surgery this offseason. 

On Wednesday, CBS Sports released its Preseason All-America Team, and Mirkovic was included along with one other Big Ten player. 

Mirkovic Joins Fears on Preseason Team

Mirkovic joined Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr., the Big Ten Media Day Preseason Player of the Year, on CBS Sports' Preseason All-America Team, according to national college hoops writer Isaac Trotter.  

Mirkovic is a 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward from Niksic, Mongtenegro who decided to return for his sophomore season with Underwood's team. He finished 30th in the Big Ten in scoring last season, two places behind returning teammate Andrej Stojakovic and 13 places behind Fears, Jr., who averaged 15.2 points per game. 

The Illini forward also snagged eight rebounds per game and shot over 48% from the field, including 37.5% from three-point range. 

Mirkovic Recovery Has Been a Challenge 

Mirkovic has had a hard time adjusting to life on the practice court since returning, according to an interview of Underwood in the The News-Gazette of Champaign-Urbana. 

Underwood spoke about his recovery in a recent article. 

"He was literally out there about six minutes, and we needed oxygen, and he needed help," Underwood said. 

Mirkovic will not play in Saturday's exhibition against Cincinnati, but he has practiced this week and is targeting the team's regular season opener to return to game action. 

"No timeline, but (he) will not play this week, I do know that," Underwood said of Mirkovic. 

Nov. 10 – The Best Date for Mirkovic's Return?

Illinois will take on Fairleigh Dickinson and Penn in its first two games but gets a much tougher contest in its third game of the season on Nov. 10 against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. 

This game looks like the first truly tough game of the season for the Fighting Illini and is scheduled for one week before a potential Final Four preview against the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C. on Nov. 17. 

Mirkovic knows that playing against Duke could be an excellent opportunity to improve his NBA Draft stock, and his team's NCAA Tournament resume, which will serve as a motivational factor as the season draws near. 

Mirkovic is facing one of the toughest challenges of his young career, but it could make him a mentally tougher and more game ready player if he continues to learn from it and uses it to his advantage.