Illinois star David Mirkovic’s emergency appendectomy further complicates return from foot injury

David Mirkovic’s impact on the Illinois Fighting Illini will be important. However, his season debut won’t be in the opener, as he remains sidelined for the time being. The native of Montenegro was on target for a breakout season after making a big impact as a freshman a year ago. He appeared in 37 games, including six starts, in his first season of college basketball at a little over 29 minutes per game. He averaged 13.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists with splits of 48.4 percent shooting from the field, 37.5 percent shooting from the 3-point line.