Cal has added a transfer commitment from Loyola-Maryland power forward Milos Ilic this evening, per his agency WEAVE. The 6-foot-10, 235-pound senior averaged 14.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3 assists to lead his team this season.
The Gornji Milanovac, Serbia native played high school basketball at the Hoosac School in New York and quickly made an impression at Loyola by playing in 26 games and making 23 starts his first year. An injury cost the versatile big man his sophomore season, which is giving him the opportunity to play at Cal as a graduate transfer when he gets his degree this spring.
He made 27 starts in the 2023-24 season before starting all 31 games this season for the Greyhounds. Ilic fills a big need for the Bears in the front court with Cal set to lose Mady Sissoko in the middle. The presence of a versatile big man certainly was highlighted with Fardaws Aimaq during Mark Madsen's first season, and Ilic has the type of well-rounded game that can fit in well with the Bears' system.
Though it is not his speciality, Ilic has the range to step out and take 3-point shots. He is coming off his best season shooting from the outside having made 20-of-62 shots from beyond the arc. Ilic connected on a career-best 52.4% of his shots from the field this season and upped his rebounding average from 5.1 to 7.5.
His ability to distribute the ball is certainly unique for a player his size and could be a real weapon for the Bears. Though his offensive game is where he shines, Ilic also finished in the top five at Loyola this season in steals and blocks.
Ilic scored in double figures in all but four games this season and had double doubles in seven contests. One of those games came during a nonconfernece matchup with future ACC opponent Boston College, which ended with Ilic pulling in a season-high 14 rebounds to go along with 12 points and 4 assists.
The newest Cal transfer nearly had a triple double against Holy Cross as he finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and a season-high 8 assists. He hit the 20-point mark four times this season highlighted by a 28-point showing against VMI early in the season.
The Bears have started to develop some momentum in their rebuild process following a handful of departures since the end of the season. Ilic is the third player to announce his commitment to Cal since Saturday joining Campbell University wing Nolan Dorsey and Virginia point guard Dai Dai Ames, who made his decision to join the Bears earlier in the day Tuesday.
USC, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Penn State and Nebraska were believed to be some of the other programs in pursuit of the new Cal transfer addition.
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