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Illinois Basketball: Player expectations for 2017-2018 season

By Rees Woodcock

March 17, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; General view of the court before the game between the Oregon Ducks and the Iona Gaels in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
March 17, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; General view of the court before the game between the Oregon Ducks and the Iona Gaels in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 21, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; The Illinois Fighting Illini cheerleaders run on the court before a basketball game against the Missouri Tigers at Scottrade Center. Illinois won 75-66. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

Da’Monte Williams

Almost a year and a half ago Illinois received a commitment from Da’Monte Williams. At the time it was the first commitment for the previous regime for the class of 2017. He was a top 100 player and was also a legacy recruit.

Williams is the son of Illini great Frank Williams who dominated the early 2000’s with his scoring and distributing skills. This is what we, hopefully, will be getting with Da’Monte as well.

Since that commitment back in 2016, Williams has dealt with some issues. He was injured for much of the AAU season that summer and then in December of last year tore his ACL. He missed the entire high school season but he should be healthy and ready to go for the Illini this year.

Because of the injuries and lack of playing, recruiting services have dropped him out of the top 100 and he is now a three-star recruit. He is extremely underrated for a player of his caliber and the Illini got a steal.

This upcoming season should just be an introduction for Williams to the college game, though. They don’t want to push him too hard since he is coming off a torn ACL. The goal should be—if they don’t redshirt him—to play something like 8 minutes per game. In that time expect about 2 points, 1 assist and 1 rebound. This season shouldn’t be about exploding onto the scene. It should be about managing his minutes and monitoring his healthy throughout the season.

Williams will become a great Illini basketball player. His future is bright and when his health does stabilize, watch out Big Ten.

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