[1][2] After coming up through the Jedinstvo Aida youth system for years, in 1990, youngster Mile's sixteen-year-old sister Slavica Ilić made the team's full squad as replacement at center for celebrated future FIBA Hall of Famer Razija Mujanović who had just transferred abroad to play with CB Godella in Spain.

[2] With the outbreak of the Bosnian War in spring 1992, eighteen-year-old Slavica fled the armed conflict area for Belgrade, Serbia where she resumed playing professionally, finding a spot on the ŽKK Partizan roster quickly.

[3] Upon returning to Belgrade, encouraged by his sister Slavica, the tall ten-year-old began practicing basketball by enrolling in KK Partizan's youth categories coached by Aleksandar Bućan.

[2] By 1996, Slavica Ilić secured a transfer abroad to France with Stade Clermontois BF and twelve-year-old Mile rejoined their parents by moving back to Bosnia where the war had ended in the meantime.

Some ten days later, however, the team created a roster spot for him and the tall teenager joined KK Hemofarm, a club financed by the state-owned pharmaceutical company of the same name led by CEO Miodrag Babić [sr].

Coached by Rodić, teenage Ilić played for the KK Hemofarm youth team alongside fellow youngsters Darko Miličić, Miljan Pupović, Nenad Mišanović, Vukašin Aleksić, Marko Kolarić, Nikola Tutuš, etc.

After three seasons in KK Hemofarm's youth system, seeing his opportunities of entering the club's first team limited, Ilić decided to unilaterally leave Vršac during summer 2002 and transfer to YUBA League rivals FMP.

[8] However, he never managed to play for the Russian club due to the effects of the nagging ankle injury he had picked up in the United States and then exacerbated at the EuroBasket 2007 training camp with Serbia national team.

[12] Playing on a squad with compatriot Duško Savanović under head coach Pedro Martínez, Ilić's not-fully-healed ankle injury got exacerbated again and he started missing games again.

During late August 2003, nineteen-year-old Ilić represented Serbia-Montenegro at the 2003 Summer Universiade in Daegu, South Korea as part of the country's university basketball team.

In summer 2006, fresh off winning the Adriatic League title with FMP, Ilić was called up for national team duty by head coach Dragan Šakota as part of Serbia and Montenegro's selection process for the upcoming 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan.

[10] Carrying an ankle injury from his time in the U.S., hesitant Ilić still showed up on the insistence of head coach Slavnić who reportedly called the player personally on multiple occasions, convincing him eventually.

[10] At the training camp, Ilić exacerbated his ankle injury and in the end did not make the 12-man roster, with Slavnić picking Miličić and Dragan Labović for center spots.

[26] At the beginning of summer 2011, after completing a return season with FMP, Ilić was called up by the Serbia national team head coach Dušan Ivković for the EuroBasket 2011 training camp.