 |  |  |
After losing to the Connecticut Huskies 77-52 during the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, the Illinois Fighting Illini were clearly a team that would look much different the following season.
Definitely gone were senior stars Terrence Shannon Jr., who had run out of eligibility and would be a first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Marcus Domask, the Southern Illinois transfer who would booty ball the Illini to a bounceback season after a drama-filled 2022-23 campaign.
Also departing were unsung senior transfers Quincy Guerrier and Justin Harmon, valuable role players from Oregon and Utah Valley who helped the Illini advance farther than any team since the 2004-05 squad.
Most likely gone was starting center Coleman Hawkins, who was set to graduate from Illinois and would actually transfer to Kansas State for a fifth season of college basketball.
Soon entering the portal were backup big man Dain Dainja, who would transfer to Memphis; redshirt sophomore Sincere Harris and freshman Amani Hansberry, both of whom would end up at West Virginia; junior sharpshooter Luke Goode, who would go home to Indiana; and redshirt freshman guard Nicollo Moretti, who would transfer to Florida Atlantic.
Even the Illini would lose assistants Tim Anderson and Chester Frazier, an Illinois alum who would also leave for West Virginia.
With only Ty Rodgers and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn returning and freshman Morez Johnson incoming, the Illini had an entire roster to retool via the portal.
The following season, Illinois would add nine new players, with the first person to commit being a long-haired, redhead named Jake Davis, a 6'5'' freshman from Mercer.
Some Illinois fans were a bit worried and underwhelmed when Davis was added the Monday after Illinois was devastated by the Huskies. While hardly the big-name, first domino Illinois fans were expecting out of the portal, Davis was a shrewd add at the time, with his impact being felt during his first two seasons in Champaign, including starting on last year's Final Four squad.
Last Wednesday night, Davis announced that he would be returning to the Illini next season, along with his good buddies Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic. This announcement followed David Mirkovic's return earlier that afternoon and preceded Andrej Stojakovic's decision to come back two days later.
While Davis may be the least heralded of the five players returning from a Final Four squad, his importance cannot be understated. Davis is the ultimate team guy, willing to come off the bench or start, a connector on the floor who keeps defenses honest with his three-point shooting and ability to crash for offensive rebounds on the weakside. Davis is a great screener and cutter, and someone who works hard on defense despite being limited physically.
Most importantly, Davis is low maintenance. While the four returning players from last year's squad are going to expect more usage within the offense, Davis is someone just here to do his job, to fill in the gaps for his star teammates. With Illinois losing valuable leaders in Kylan Boswell and Ben Humrichous, expect Davis to fill that void even more next season.
Last season Davis stepped into the starting lineup to help Illinois survive injuries to Boswell and Stojakovic. Honestly, Illinois is just a better team when Davis is on the court, despite his limitations, as he is such a smart ballplayer.
While a lot of people are expecting Davis to return to the bench next season, don't count on it. Coaches love and trust seniors, and Davis could very well start again with Stojakovic sliding over to the two. If things don't click with Stefan Vaaks and Quentin Coleman starting at the beginning of the season, Underwood will not hesitate to insert Davis back into the starting lineup, especially during Big Ten season.
Wherever Davis begins next season, Illinois is lucky to have a player who has been part of the program for three years and helped establish a unique chemistry and culture within this current group of players. With five freshman joining the Illini, Davis will be a valuable veteran not only on but off the court in helping the right values carry on with the next core of Illinois basketball.
Simply put, Jake Davis is a player whose impact is not always seen in a box score; however, great programs must have players like him who are willing to sacrifice and do whatever it takes for the team's success. The Illini could not afford to lose Davis' leadership this offseason, and it's a credit to the staff that Jake was valued as much as his more acclaimed teammates Mirkovic, Stojakovic and the Ivisic twins.
Who would have thought two years ago that the addition of a surfer-looking dude from Mercer would be so important to Illini basketball?
Definitely gone were senior stars Terrence Shannon Jr., who had run out of eligibility and would be a first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Marcus Domask, the Southern Illinois transfer who would booty ball the Illini to a bounceback season after a drama-filled 2022-23 campaign.
Also departing were unsung senior transfers Quincy Guerrier and Justin Harmon, valuable role players from Oregon and Utah Valley who helped the Illini advance farther than any team since the 2004-05 squad.
Most likely gone was starting center Coleman Hawkins, who was set to graduate from Illinois and would actually transfer to Kansas State for a fifth season of college basketball.
Soon entering the portal were backup big man Dain Dainja, who would transfer to Memphis; redshirt sophomore Sincere Harris and freshman Amani Hansberry, both of whom would end up at West Virginia; junior sharpshooter Luke Goode, who would go home to Indiana; and redshirt freshman guard Nicollo Moretti, who would transfer to Florida Atlantic.
Even the Illini would lose assistants Tim Anderson and Chester Frazier, an Illinois alum who would also leave for West Virginia.
With only Ty Rodgers and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn returning and freshman Morez Johnson incoming, the Illini had an entire roster to retool via the portal.
The following season, Illinois would add nine new players, with the first person to commit being a long-haired, redhead named Jake Davis, a 6'5'' freshman from Mercer.
Some Illinois fans were a bit worried and underwhelmed when Davis was added the Monday after Illinois was devastated by the Huskies. While hardly the big-name, first domino Illinois fans were expecting out of the portal, Davis was a shrewd add at the time, with his impact being felt during his first two seasons in Champaign, including starting on last year's Final Four squad.
Last Wednesday night, Davis announced that he would be returning to the Illini next season, along with his good buddies Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic. This announcement followed David Mirkovic's return earlier that afternoon and preceded Andrej Stojakovic's decision to come back two days later.
While Davis may be the least heralded of the five players returning from a Final Four squad, his importance cannot be understated. Davis is the ultimate team guy, willing to come off the bench or start, a connector on the floor who keeps defenses honest with his three-point shooting and ability to crash for offensive rebounds on the weakside. Davis is a great screener and cutter, and someone who works hard on defense despite being limited physically.
Most importantly, Davis is low maintenance. While the four returning players from last year's squad are going to expect more usage within the offense, Davis is someone just here to do his job, to fill in the gaps for his star teammates. With Illinois losing valuable leaders in Kylan Boswell and Ben Humrichous, expect Davis to fill that void even more next season.
Last season Davis stepped into the starting lineup to help Illinois survive injuries to Boswell and Stojakovic. Honestly, Illinois is just a better team when Davis is on the court, despite his limitations, as he is such a smart ballplayer.
While a lot of people are expecting Davis to return to the bench next season, don't count on it. Coaches love and trust seniors, and Davis could very well start again with Stojakovic sliding over to the two. If things don't click with Stefan Vaaks and Quentin Coleman starting at the beginning of the season, Underwood will not hesitate to insert Davis back into the starting lineup, especially during Big Ten season.
Wherever Davis begins next season, Illinois is lucky to have a player who has been part of the program for three years and helped establish a unique chemistry and culture within this current group of players. With five freshman joining the Illini, Davis will be a valuable veteran not only on but off the court in helping the right values carry on with the next core of Illinois basketball.
Simply put, Jake Davis is a player whose impact is not always seen in a box score; however, great programs must have players like him who are willing to sacrifice and do whatever it takes for the team's success. The Illini could not afford to lose Davis' leadership this offseason, and it's a credit to the staff that Jake was valued as much as his more acclaimed teammates Mirkovic, Stojakovic and the Ivisic twins.
Who would have thought two years ago that the addition of a surfer-looking dude from Mercer would be so important to Illini basketball?
| | | |
RSS Feed