Illinois Basketball: 3 observations from the Illini win over Indiana

2. Have we been hiding Monte?

The Da’Monte Williams ride has been up and down his entire career. There were multiple times that I was upset with the way Williams was playing, and I wanted him on the bench.

But was this all an adjustment period? Was Williams’ lack of production due to the scheme that is being run? I love what Brad Underwood is doing with the program, but is Williams being hidden in the Underwood offense?

I am starting to like when Williams shoots the ball. He can receive the pass at the three-point arc and hit shots in rhythm. While he isn’t good enough to create his own shot from distance, he can still get buckets when a play is set up for him.

On Sunday afternoon against Indiana, Williams finished the game with seven points on 2-of-5 shooting from the field and 1-of-2 from three-point land. He is now 5-of-11 from three-point range in his last seven games. Those are really good numbers considering some of the best three-point shooters only hit 40-percent from distance.

Williams is going to do all of the other things on the court because that is what he is asked to do. But let’s not count this kid out on the scoring front. He can hit a big shot when he needs to. Williams can get buckets and will be a valuable piece entering the NCAA tournament.