Head coach Brad Underwood has run a tight ship in 2023-24. The nights where No. 14 Illinois men’s basketball goes more than seven or eight players deep are few and far between, with ones where two reserve players get significant minutes even less common. Illinois has a matchup-driven approach this season: Everyone has their role, and that could mean anywhere from 20 minutes to zero minutes on any given night.

Justin Harmon

One of Illinois’ three graduate transfers, Harmon has turned into Illinois’ most consistent reserve player. He’s averaged 24 minutes per game over Illinois’ last six games and reached double digits in four of them. Back-to-back season-high performances against Fairleigh Dickinson (18) and Northwestern (20) are only surpassed by his team-high 40.9% mark from distance.

Dain Dainja

Dainja’s role has effectively been halved in 2023-24. He sees just 10.2 minutes on the floor compared to 20.6 last season. He is still one of just six Illini who have played in all 18 games and has been effective on offense while out there. A 68.9% mark from the field is the highest by any Illini who has attempted more than 10 shots and 19 points in 16 minutes against Fairleigh Dickinson, showing how useful his skillset can be.

Luke Goode

Goode has been a starter since the suspension of fifth-year guard Terrence Shannon Jr. but spent 11 games as a reserve to start the year. He completely excelled as a shooter while in that role, knocking down a blistering 44.4% of his attempts from deep. His 7.5 points per game off of the bench was a career-high and has risen to 7.7 during his time as a starter. Besides shooting, Goode’s active on the glass and reels in 4.3 rebounds per game — the sixth-best on the team.

Niccolo Moretti

Moretti has only played in four games due to a foot injury against Southern but looked solid as a ball handler while on the floor. His skill as a facilitating guard is easy to spot during his minutes and should continue to see his role grow as he works back to form.

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn

Game one was a bang for Gibbs-Lawhorn, who set his career-high at 18 points in his collegiate debut. Gibbs-Lawhorn has not seen much of the floor since that point. Illinois’ schedule ramping up has likely contributed to Gibbs-Lawhorn’s four DNPs and seven games with less than 10 minutes. It’s been difficult for Gibbs-Lawhorn to find a groove this season but his scoring prowess will one day be an excellent addition to the Illini.

Amani Hansberry

Much like Moretti, Hansberry has missed time due to injury. Hansberry was lauded by Underwood in the early season as being a guy who never needed a play to be run for him and that anecdote has some real weight to it. Through 10 games of limited action off the bench, Hansberry has excelled as a rebounder and a scorer by being in the right place at the right time. 

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