The conduit connecting the Eastern European talent pool to Illini basketball isn’t without its obstacles.

Brad Underwood informed the media that Zvonimir Ivisic and David Mirkovic are in the midst of securing the required documentation and approvals to join the Illinois team this autumn.

“There’s a lot involved with translating transcripts, establishing eligibility, and so forth,” Underwood explained. “We are feeling very confident about these processes. Then, issuing an I-20 and scheduling a visa appointment are necessary steps, and we’ll need to navigate through some of this. We’ll see how it unfolds, as, honestly, we don’t know yet. But, we’re hopeful it will be resolved sooner rather than later.”

Zvonimir Ivisic transfered to Illinois to join his twin brother Tomislav after stints at Kentucky and Arkansas. Mirkovic is poised to enter Illinois as a freshman, a Montenegrin forward out of the Adriatic League which produced Kasparas Jakucionis and the Ivisic twins.