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Illinois Basketball: 5 takeaways from the Illini loss to Minnesota

By Rees Woodcock

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JANUARY 3: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini reacts during the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on January 3, 2018 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JANUARY 3: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini reacts during the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on January 3, 2018 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JANUARY 3: Da’Monte Williams
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JANUARY 3: Da’Monte Williams /

5. The freshmen carry this team

I can’t express how excited I am about the current freshman class for the Illinois basketball team. These youngsters are going to carry the team this season and into the future.

Trent Frazier has been the most electric player on the Illini this season. He continues to impress night in and night out. He has his averages up to 9.7 points, 2.6 assists and 1.7 rebounds per game. Last night, he was sensational again with 12 points and 6 assists on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point land.

Da’Monte Williams has been the grit on the team this season. He has been the hardest working player I have seen in Champaign in the last decade. I love everything he does for this program. The stat sheet isn’t going to wow you, but Williams does things on the court that don’t show up in the stat sheet.

Last night, Williams was a real floor general when he came into the game. Granted, the Illini were down by a lot at that point, but he helped the team get back in the game. He ended up with 6 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals for the Illini. He continued to move the ball and set up plays. I hope he gets a chance to start soon.

Mark Smith hasn’t been what I expected this season but some players learn faster than others. The speed of the game might be getting to Smith right now. I think he will come out of it but it is just a matter of time. I do see sparks of greatness from Smith, though.

Greg Eboigbodin showed some life last night for the Illini as well. He finally got some playing time against good competition and was great. He finished the night with 9 points and 3 rebounds. Look for him to get an increased amount of minutes moving forward.

Next: Recap of the Illini non-conference season

All of these freshmen will play a big role in the Illinois program this season and into the future. This class is going to be special and the Illini will win in the very near future.

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