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Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He’ll offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwood’s team and college basketball at large:
David Mirkovic’s delayed arrival in Champaign this summer put him behind in the “Body by Fletch” process. While the other Illinois freshman got several months with strength and conditioning coach Adam Fletcher, the 6-foot-9, 255-pound forward is only a couple weeks into his off-the-court work at Ubben Basketball Complex.
“With the staggered starts, it’s always a little bit tricky, but we try to pride ourselves on being individualized in how we program,” Fletcher said during an appearance on Saturday SportsTalk with Loren Tate and Steve Kelly. “Really, whenever a guy shows up doesn’t really matter. We’re going to meet them where they are. Get an understanding of what their baseline conditioning is, what their movement patterns look like, and then, really, just kind of hit the ground running after an assessment.”
— David Mirković (@davidmirkovicc) August 23, 2025
“Although David is fresh and has been here for a couple weeks, it’s just a matter of meeting him where he is and then bringing him along accordingly in what we do,” Fletcher continued. “A freshman plan looks a little bit different than a sophomore plan or junior or senior. We’ll push those guys early and often with their physicality — continue to gain weight, continue to work on nutrition — to give themselves a chance to make a jump, really, on the back end of that first semester and looking into that second semester.”