The Illinois Fighting Illini advanced to the Final Four on Saturday, and one of their players literally did not know how to celebrate.
Freshman forward David Mirkovic did not seem to know what to do when presented with his chance to cut down the nets following the team’s 71-59 win over Iowa at Toyota Center in Houston, Tex. Mirkovic took a step up the ladder and, instead of using scissors, started to try to rip the netting from the hoop with his bare hands.
I’m not sure David Mirkovic fully understood the concept. 😅Thankfully Kylan Boswell was there to restore order.#Illini pic.twitter.com/7tgcu9p3C2
— Tyler Cottingham (@TylerCott) March 29, 2026
Mirkovic’s teammate Kylan Boswell stepped in and offered Mirkovic some help in getting his piece of the net.
A native of Montenegro, Mirkovic is playing his first season in the United States. While the tradition of cutting down the nets is ubiquitous to American sports fans, it’s probably completely foreign to overseas players that do not follow college basketball as closely. One can only wonder what he thought of the first half horn malfunction.
The important thing for Illinois is that Mirkovic keeps contributing. He had nine points and 12 rebounds in the win over Iowa and has two double-doubles during the tournament.
