Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood reacts against the Connecticut Huskies in the finals of the East Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images For the third year in a row, Illinois welcomes Eastern Illinois to kick off the season. But as the Fighting Illini prepare for Monday’s game in Champaign, Ill., they bear almost no resemblance to last season’s group.
The Illini retain just two scholarship players — guards Ty Rodgers and Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn — and 9.6 percent of their scoring from last year’s Elite Eight squad. Head coach Brad Underwood reloaded with 10 new players, including three freshmen attractive to NBA scouts — point guard Kasparas Jakucionis, wing Will Riley and center Tomislav Ivisic.
But freshmen must learn freshman lessons, regardless of their potential professional pedigree.
While last year’s senior-heavy team entered the season opener with momentum after beating No. 1 Kansas in the preseason, this year’s crew enters Monday night’s opener following a 91-74 exhibition loss at No. 24 Ole Miss that wasn’t as close as the score indicated.
The veteran-laden Rebels shot 52.2 percent on 3-pointers, forced Illinois into 22 turnovers and knocked the Illini off-stride whenever they tried to bully their way toward the paint.
“We needed to get out-physicaled,” Underwood told the SEC Network. “Be on the road. Let the crowd get into it. We’ve got a lot of young guys seeing this for the first time.”
Underwood rotated four freshmen, three sophomores, three juniors and one senior in an effort to find efficient combos. While Jakucionis (12 points, six rebounds, five assists, four turnovers, 3-of-9 shooting) and Riley (7 points, 2-of-8 shooting) struggled while forcing the action, Gibbs-Lawhorn (team-high 15 points) and Ivisic (12 points, six rebounds) looked comfortable.
One problem: The 21-year-old Ivisic — the twin of Kentucky-turned-Arkansas 7-footer Zvonimir Ivisic — has yet to be cleared by the NCAA.
“I’m playing them all,” Underwood said. “I’m still trying to figure that piece of it out.”
Eastern Illinois, which finished 14-18 last year for the program’s best record since 2019-20, retains two of its top three players in guard Nakyel Shelton (11 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and forward Kooper Jacobi (10.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg).
Panthers head coach Marty Simmons added six transfers who, in his estimation, make depth the team’s biggest strength. Guard Zion Fruster, who averaged 18 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.0 steals last year at Division II Virginia Wise, could have the biggest immediate impact at both ends.
“As we get healthy, we’ll be able to play a lot of different guys — a lot of different lineups,” Simmons said. “We’re not there yet, but I think we have a change to be a very, very good defensive team. We’ve got some quickness, some athleticism on the perimeter, some length. I think we have some toughness — guys committed to being successful on that side of the ball.”
The Ohio Valley’s head coaches and sports information directors picked the Panthers to finish sixth in the 11-team league.
–Field Level Media
