With the start of college basketball season in early November, we’ll examine the conference as a whole and Indiana’s roster over the coming weeks.
Today, our team previews continue with Illinois.
Previously: Penn State, Washington, Minnesota, USC, Northwestern, Nebraska, Iowa, Oregon, Maryland, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan, UCLA
The 2023-24 Illinois season ended with a run to the Elite Eight, where the Fighting Illini fell to eventual national champion UConn.
Brad Underwood has solidified himself as one of the Big Ten’s premier coaches. Illinois has finished in the top 35 of the KenPom rankings in the last five seasons. Three of those seasons saw Illinois finish in the top 20 and two ended in the top 10.
This winter in Champaign, the Illinois roster will look much different as Terrence Shannon Jr., Marcus Domask, Dain Dainja, Coleman Hawkins, Quincy Guerrier, Sencire Harris, Amani Hansberry, Justin Harmon and Luke Goode are all gone.
The lone rotation returnees are junior Ty Rodgers, a starter last season and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, who averaged just 7.1 minutes last season as a freshman.
The revamped Illini backcourt will feature Arizona transfer Kylan Boswell and Lithuanian freshman Kasparus Jakucionis, who is expected to be one of the top newcomers in the Big Ten.
Bowell, a Champaign native, played the last two seasons with the Wildcats and averaged 9.6 points, 3.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 26.9 minutes per game last season. He shot just 39.6 percent overall from the field but did connect at a 37.9 percent clip from distance. Boswell reportedly dropped more than 20 pounds in the offseason.
It’s often tricky to project international players, but Jakucionis looks the part of an impact guard. He made his EuroLeague debut last season before turning 18 years old and over the summer averaged 19.4 points, 5.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds for Lithuania in the FIBA 18U EuroBasket.
Rodgers is likely to remain a starter and his versatility allows him to guard multiple positions. At 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds, Rodgers can defend guards and forwards but has been limited offensively through his first two seasons. Rodgers has reportedly worked on his free throw and 3-point shooting this offseason to force defenses to be more honest when game planning against the Illini.
At the four, the Illini will likely look to Evansville transfer Ben Humrichous to stretch the floor. A native of Tipton, Humrichous began his career at Huntington University before transferring to Evansville. In 29.6 minutes per game, the 6-foot-9 forward shot 41.4 percent on 3s and averaged 14.7 points and 4.7 rebounds.
In the post, Illinois landed Croatian freshman Tomislav Ivisic, the twin brother of Zvonimir Ivisic, who played at Kentucky last season before transferring to Arkansas. Ivisic is 7-foot-1 and 230 pounds and should, at the least, be able to provide rim protection for the Illini.
Gibbs-Lawhorn is the only returning piece off the bench. He averaged 2.4 points last season and shot just 22.2 percent on 3s. Still, the valuable minutes he earned during last season’s tournament runs should help mold him into a reliable contributor off the bench.
Frontcourt depth will come from freshmen Will Riley, Morez Johnson Jr. and Jason Jakstys as well as Notre Dame transfer Carey Booth. The 6-foot-9 Riley moved from the 2025 class, where he was regarded as a top 10 player, into the 2024 class. He’s among the highest-rated recruits to ever sign with Illinois and can score from all three levels.
Johnson Jr., a 6-foot-9 big man, was a top-30 recruit in the 2024 class and is from St. Rita in Chicago. Johnson was the Gatorade player of the year in Illinois and the state’s Mr. Basketball last season. Jakstys isn’t as highly regarded as Ivisic or Johnson, but he brings size at 6-foot-10 despite being a year or two away from being a significant contributor.
Booth averaged 19.9 minutes last season for the Fighting Irish and averaged 6.4 points and 4.3 rebounds. He’s the son of former Penn State big man Calvin Booth, the general manager of the Denver Nuggets.
Wing depth will be provided by Louisville transfer Tre White, who could challenge for a starting spot and Mercer transfer Jake Davis.
White began his career at USC before playing last season at Louisville, where he averaged 12.3 points and 5.9 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game. His shot selection, which was erratic last season for the Cardinals, must improve. But there’s no doubt White is talented and can score from the midrange.
Davis is a 6-foot-8 sophomore who could fill a similar role to Goode because of his shooting ability. Last season, Davis shot 38.7 percent on 3s in 28.6 minutes per game. He’s an Indiana native who played at Cathedral.
This season, big things are expected again from the Illini, who currently sit at No. 20 in Bart Torvik’s preseason projections for the 2024-25 season. Lindy’s Sports college basketball preview picked Illinois to finish fourth in the Big Ten, while the Blue Ribbon college basketball yearbook picked them to finish second.
Bottom line: Illinois has a ton of new pieces to work in, but there’s no denying the talent on the roster. Boswell and Jakucionis are impact guard additions and Humrichous will give Underwood a reliable floor spacer with size. Riley is one of the most talented incoming players in the league and Rodgers is one of the best glue guys in the conference. It might take some time for things to gel in Champaign, but the Illini should again be a factor in the Big Ten race.
Quotable: “It’s all going to fit together. There’ll be some growing pains there’s no doubt, as I always say the defensive side is the hardest side to learn but we feel like we’ve got a group that fits and that we’re not going to have to search as much on the offensive side to find those fits.” – Underwood on fitting the pieces together in comments to the media in June.
Filed to: 2024-25 Big Ten preview, Illinois Fighting Illini
