Writing Illini
Fansided

Illinois Basketball: 3 most impactful Illini players for 2021-22

By Jalen Wilson

Feb 23, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Trent Frazier (1) brings the ball up court against the Michigan State Spartans during the first half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 23, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Trent Frazier (1) brings the ball up court against the Michigan State Spartans during the first half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
Illinois basketball
Nov 26, 2020; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Da’Monte Williams (20) hits a three point shot during the first half against the Chicago State Cougars at the State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Da’Monte Williams

People reading this might disagree with Da’Monte Williams being on here because he isn’t a player that scores a lot, but he is a glue guy on this Illinois basketball team. Just like Trent Frazier, Williams is also entering his fifth season in an Illini uniform.

In Williams’ first year, his minutes were limited due to an ACL injury suffered during his senior year of high school. In his limited minutes, Williams ended up averaging 3.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. Unfortunately, he couldn’t significantly impact this team due to his minutes and limited touches when he was on the court.

In his sophomore season, Williams saw his minutes jump, but his production stayed the same. He averaged 3.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists that year. However, the stat sheet doesn’t show the number of hustle plays and overall heart Williams displayed on the court.

It wasn’t until Williams’ junior season where college basketball fans started to see his impact. His numbers again weren’t eye-popping as he averaged 2.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. Despite low numbers, Williams made an impact as he guarded the point guard through power forward positions. Sometimes Williams even defended the team’s best player. Near the end of the season, he ended up being a sharpshooter from three-point range as well.

Last season, Williams saw his role increase as his touches and minutes increased. He also saw his numbers jump up as he averaged 5.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. Williams continued where he left off from the previous season. He was able to be versatile on defense and knock down three-pointers on the offensive end. Williams led the NCAA in three-point percentage, shooting 56% from behind the arc.

Now going into this upcoming season, I expect Williams to do much of the same. I think he will average around 7.5 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists per game. I still expect him to bring the same intensity game in and game out, but I don’t think he will keep shooting 56% from three-point range. I do still believe he will keep being a threat from deep, though.

Home/Illinois Basketball