Illinois went after ‘action guys’ this offseason

Jul. 11—CHAMPAIGN — The Illinois men’s basketball program approached its last stage of roster building for the 2024-25 season with a specific intent of landing another player that would fit what the coaching staff calls an “action guy.”

A player to run the offense through. Someone comfortable — and effective — with the ball in their hands. The Illini ultimately landed two to round out their roster for the coming season.

Kasparas Jakucionis arrived in Champaign last month with a reputation as one of the top young point guards in Europe. The 18-year-old Lithuanian averaged 19.2 points and 5.7 assists in 19 games for Barcelona in Liga EBA. He flashed even more as a playmaker in seven Adidas Next Generation Tournament games, including 17 assists against ALBA Berlin and 14 against Overtime Elite in May.

Will Riley was one of the top EYBL scorers this spring for UPlay Canada before reclassifying. The 6-foot-8 wing put up 21.7 points and four assists per game on the Nike circuit after averaging 29 points and four assists at The Phelps School (Pa.) last season.

Action guys. Two more of them to go with Arizona transfer Kylan Boswell in what will likely be increased ball-screen opportunities in the 2024-25 season and the return of “booty ball” with Ty Rodgers, Tre White and Ben Humrichous.

“I think right now we’re in the intel gathering phase,” Illinois assistant coach Tyler Underwood said. “Who are our ‘action guys’ going to be? It’s a big responsibility. The ball is in your hands a ton.

“We spend a ton of time teaching our guys the why. We don’t want to just run a set play. We want them to know the exact why and what we’re trying to get out of it.”

Underwood had quite a bit of responsibility himself last season when he was tasked with developing Illinois’ offense. An offense that, by season’s end, was third in the country in adjusted efficiency, per Ken Pomeroy, behind only two-time national champion Connecticut and Alabama.

Last year’s offense also featured multiple evolutions….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/illinois-went-action-guys-offseason-145000568.html

Author : The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.

Publish date : 2024-07-11 14:50:00

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