4. Will there be a minutes adjustment?
It was tough watching Illinois lose to No. 11 Arizona about a week ago. The Illini could have won that contest but there were some issues with players who didn’t produce enough.
Now that the Illini are going up against an inferior St. Francis (PA) program, it might not be a bad idea to see a minutes adjustment with the lineup.
Obviously, the player I am looking at the most is Da’Monte Williams. I believe I type this every year, but last season was an anomaly with Williams getting hot from three-point range. That three-point touch hasn’t been there this season, though.
This season, Williams has averaged 3.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 25% from the field. Most of those numbers have actually declined over the past six contests. In this span, he has averaged 3.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Williams’ shooting is still low at 31.8% and he has seen a slight uptick in assists at 4.6 assists per game, but that is due to his role changing slightly.
Williams is getting 28.8 minutes per game this season. I need to see more production out of him if he is getting that many minutes. With that being said, I would like to see a minutes adjustment.
I think Williams is valuable for his defense at times. He should be getting 15-18 minutes per game, though. I want to see those minutes go to some of the younger guys. Luke Goode and the other freshmen have a lot to offer this team. Let’s get Goode more involved. Let’s get RJ Melendez more involved. And, if we aren’t redshirting Brandin Podziemski, let’s see him on the court.
On Saturday, I will be looking to see if Brad Underwood does anything with the starter’s minutes. I think it is time for an adjustment, but will he?