A big smile was seen on David Mirkovic’s face inside the Houston Center.
The Illinois freshman forward, who has been a breakout star this season, considers twin teammates Tomislav Ivisic and Zvonimir Ivisic like his older brothers.
Some 14 hours before, Tomislav wrapped his arm around Mirkovic during a TBS postgame press conference, frazzled Mirkovic’s hair and whispered a “secret” into the ear of the freshman who just had a double-double in the Sweet Sixteen to get the Illini on the doorstep of the Final Four.
It was very much older-sibling energy.
Mirkovic on the Ivisic Twins
“I think so,” Mirkovic said, smiling ear to ear.
“…Not just looks, but the personality, the moments that are happening and the experiences we have, they act like older brothers.”
The three are the faces of a frontcourt that has Illinois in Saturday’s Elite Eight against Iowa at 5:09 p.m. CT in the Toyota Center in downtown Houston with a chance to advance to next week’s Final Four in Indianapolis.
A Friendship Forged Before Illinois
This wasn’t a relationship forged in Champaign or by chance.
The three Balkan forwards — the Ivisic twins from Croatia and Mirkovic from Montenegro — have known each other for years.
The Ivisic brothers played for SC Derby, and though Mirkovic was a bit younger, the three took to one another as friends.
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