Big Ten men’s Basketball Media Day kicked off in Rosemont, Ill., on Thursday morning. Before players and coaches from each of the now 18 member schools spoke individually to the media, coaches appeared on the Big Ten Network in groups of three. Illinois head coach Brad Underwood was a part of the first group. This also included new Michigan head coach Dusty May and Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard. Here are five takeaways from Underwood on the current state of Illinois basketball and the upcoming season.

Building around positional size and shooting

Illinois had many capable shooters last year. Quincy Guerrier, Luke Goode, Marcus Domask, Terrence Shannon Jr. and Coleman Hawkins all had good size and could knock down shots. This year, however, Underwood and his staff have managed to upgrade both shooting and size across the board. 

“Positional size and shooting, two of the things we really tried to define in the portal,” said Underwood.

6-foot-10 sophomore Carey Booth, 7-foot-1 freshman Tomislav Ivisic and 6-foot-10 freshman Jason Jakstys are all big men who can stretch the floor and capably shoot the three. Freshman forward Will Riley, sophomore guard/forward Jake Davis, fifth-year forward Ben Humrichous and freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis are each knock-down shooters from distance. All of these players are also in the 6-foot-6 to 6-foot-9 range. Every one of these players can be a threat from the outside. Also, they can use their size to attack and be effective around the basket.

“We still want to play fast, we still want to play effective on the offensive glass. Just the little tweaks here and there are what take place,” said Underwood. “This group’s different, and we’ve gone very, very specific in positional size who can shoot it. Those are things that we’re continuing to look for, is to keep trying to find mismatches and advantages as easily as we can.”

Ben Humrichous is the real deal

Coming in as a fifth-year transfer, Humrichous has played three years of NAIA basketball and last year at mid-major Evansville. He perfectly fits Underwood’s goal of positional size and shooting. He stands at 6-foot-9 and knocked down 41.4% of his attempts from beyond the arc last season. 

“Been a huge and very, very pleasant surprise,” said Underwood about Humrichous. “Very, very gifted shooter.”

The expectations for Humrichous, with his experience and versatility, were already high. Based on his performances so far, he could be one of the best players on Illinois’ roster this season and potentially one of the team’s highest scorers.

Changes are going to happen

10 new players. That’s a big change. Underwood has new personalities and play styles to juggle, but it seems as if he almost enjoys the challenge.

“I guess it goes back to my junior college upbringing, where you’ve got eight, 10 new guys every year and you have to figure it out and put those pieces together,” said Underwood.

Illinois has a very deep roster this year. Sophomore guard Dra-Gibbs Lawhorn and Booth will likely come off the bench, but both could start on many high-level college teams. At the forward positions, there will be a ton of competition for minutes between Humrichous and freshman Morez Johnson, as well as Riley, juniors Tre White and Ty Rodgers. Underwood has many pieces to play around with, allowing him to easily transition and change things if something is not working.

“I say this, and this sounds crazy, I like to win,” said Underwood. “So if we’re doing something that starts that we don’t like, we’re gonna not be afraid to change it. I think that’s one of the things that I feel very comfortable with is making those changes. We got a system last year where we were able to maximize Marcus (Domask). Was a power forward at Southern Illinois, became kind of our lead guard and found a way to play and be successful.”

Fantastic freshmen 

Underwood has two potential 2025 first-round NBA draft picks on his roster this year in Jakucionis and five-star Riley. Ivisic is also a future NBA-level player with his experience playing professionally in Europe. 

“I’ve got a group of three freshmen that I’m very excited about to see their growth,” Underwood noted. “They’re probably the most talented freshmen that we’ve had on our campus.”

Riley is the highest-ranked prospect Illinois has landed since Dee Brown in 2002. Additionally, Jakucionis and Ivisic are two extremely talented selections by a program that now has international reach. If they play at the level most expect them to, Illinois could have one of the best young cores in college basketball and a potential Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

“We’re not satisfied”

After last year’s Elite Eight appearance, Illinois has a completely new roster. However, Brad Underwood is not pumping the breaks. 

“The Elite Eight’s a great step, but we’ve got two more we would like to play, and we’ve got to keep striving to get there.” Underwood pointed out. 

Underwood certainly has the talent this year to go just as far. He also has the experience, despite being a young team overall.

Junior guard Kylan Boswell, despite only being 19 years old, already has two seasons of college basketball under his belt, including being a starter all of last season. Jakucionis has played top prospects in Europe, and Ivisic is a 21-year-old freshman who has played professionally for three seasons. Humrichous, White and Rodgers will also provide a wealth of experience for Riley, Johnson and the rest of the team’s younger guys.

If they gel, this year’s Illinois team has extremely high ceilings. But nobody will know until they hit the floor in November.

“Building on chemistry is something we’re going to have to work on as we move forward,” said Underwood.

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