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Nov. 21—While Illinois made a run to the Elite Eight last season, most national recognition of the program came when discussing Terrence Shannon Jr.’s status as he went through the legal process that fully exonerated him on charges filed in Lawrence, Kan.
So while the Illini have steadily improved under Brad Underwood, they still haven’t always gotten the level of coverage nationally as other teams of their ilk.
That’s changed a bit this season. Mostly because Underwood and Co. were able to land a pair of freshmen in Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley that have legitimate NBA draft potential. As in, this coming June’s draft where they both currently project as first-round picks.
You can read what ESPN analysts Seth Greenberg and Jay Bilas said about Riley here:
Star freshmen, steady Underwood have Illinois at the forefront of college basketball world
Riley also got mentioned on Wednesday’s episode of the “Eye on College Basketball” podcast with Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander before Illinois dropped a 100-87 game to Alabama in Birmingham, Alabama.
“He’s a five-star prospect in the Class of 2024, but he didn’t get the type of attention Cooper Flagg got or any of the Duke guys got,” Parish said. “I’m looking forward to seeing Will Riley on this stage because I haven’t seen him against this type of opponent on this type of stage this season.”
That was almost a jinx. Riley had just three points on 1 of 5 shooting to go with two rebounds in the first half against the Crimson Tide. Then he turned it on in the second half, finishing with a team-high 18 points on 6 of 12 shooting while hauling in nine rebounds and handing out four assists.
“The first half I didn’t come out as aggressive as I wanted to,” Riley said after Wednesday’s game. “The second half I got more aggressive, got it going and tried to win for my team. … I’m just trying to bounce back from mistakes. I have to keep my head high and keep my confidence up and play my hardest.”
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/good-morning-illini-nation-praise-154700675.html
Author : The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
Publish date : 2024-11-21 15:47:00
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