Illinois is a basketball school. The heroes who lead Illinois to championships will be praised and remembered forever, but so will the villains who stand in their way. There’s a nice and naughty list for the men’s and women’s programs this year for those who made a true impact in games this season.
Nice: Shauna Green
Illinois has undertaken a complete program overhaul since head coach Shauna Green arrived from Dayton. After 12 combined wins in the two seasons before Green’s arrival, she has turned the Illini into a winning team.
Green is 51-27 and off to a hot start in her third season in Champaign. The Illini also made their first NCAA tournament since 2003 under Green’s reign. Fans are pouring back into State Farm Center in much larger numbers than before, and the Illini are relevant on the national stage once again. At a time of year when celebration and joy are expected, Illinois fans can be grateful to Green for providing the fanbase with both.
Naughty: Ohio State women’s basketball
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The Illini battled against the Buckeyes twice in 2024, losing both matchups by fewer than 10 points. In January, the team faced the athleticism of the now-Dallas Wings guard Jacy Sheldon, who scored 25 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Nearly 10 months later, junior forward Cotie McMahon mimicked Sheldon’s performance with 29 points, five rebounds and one block. The Buckeyes had weapons on the court, and the Illini could not stop them.
Turnovers plagued Illinois in both games and Ohio State took advantage of these errors. The Buckeyes were fast and efficient and came into the 2024-25 season with even more depth than before. Despite Ohio State’s intimidating presence, Illinois fought long and hard against the top-15 team. Though unlucky in 2024, there’s plenty of room for redemption in 2025.
Nice: Men’s basketball freshmen
Illinois basketball has been overtaken by freshmen this season. Freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis leads the Illini, averaging 16.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists. He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after scoring 22 points against No. 1 Tennessee. In his next contest, he hit a game-winning shot in the final minute to win a heated rivalry matchup. Coming to play from Lithuania, the freshman arrived with experience and has been a consistent starter for Illinois.
Staying on the nice list with Jakucionis is freshman forward Will Riley. The Canadian averaged 17.2 points per game through the first six games of the season. Riley also previously won Big Ten Freshman of the Week in early November after his hot start.
The final addition to the basketball nice list is freshman forward Morez Johnson Jr., who was previously named Mr. Basketball in Illinois before coming to college. Johnson has already made an impact, with a double-double against Maryland Eastern Shore and meaningful minutes against the last three Power Four opponents.
Naughty: Jordan Gainey
Senior guard Jordan Gainey from Tennessee might be a nightmare in the minds of many Illinois fans this season. Gainey entered his matchup with Illinois as the team’s fourth-highest scorer and lower on the scouting chart than a few players. However, he emerged when Tennessee needed him most and was the key player in the win over Illinois.
While the usual Volunteers’ offensive threats struggled, Gainey stepped up. He finished with 23 points, good for over a third of the team’s points. The 6-foot-4 transfer had a couple of clutch three-pointers to keep the Volunteers close in the second half before laying up the game-winning shot as time expired.
He is now second in points per game for Tennessee and looks every part of a high-level scorer. Unfortunately for Gainey, there’s no Christmas joy for him in Champaign.
