Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini loss to Maryland

Jan 21, 2022; College Park, Maryland, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Da’Monte Williams (20) shoots over ]Maryland Terrapins guard Eric Ayala (5) during the first half at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

3. Why not freshmen?

I think it is pretty evident that this Illinois basketball team struggled mightily on Friday night. Maryland was better in nearly every facet of the game.

Illinois had a lot of underperformers as well. The Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk experience was nice against Purdue, but he just doesn’t have the polish he needs to be a starting-caliber player yet. He would finish with six points and three fouls in 24 minutes of action against Maryland.

Da’Monte Williams did lead the team in rebounds and assists, but you have to be able to put up some points against Maryland or you become a liability. If defenses don’t see you as a threat, they can sag off and clog the lanes. Williams would finish with one point, eight rebounds, and six assists in 34 minutes of action.

Our bench didn’t do much either. The top three bench players combined for 13 points, seven rebounds, and two assists in 38 minutes.

So, this brings me to my point. Why not play the freshmen more often?

I have mentioned this quite a few times over the season, but if a lot of players are struggling and we need help, why not at least try the freshmen?

Luke Goode played five minutes against Maryland, which led all freshmen. He had three rebounds and one assist in that five minutes. Brandin Podziemski played mop-up duty with just three minutes. And RJ Melendez received a single minute.

These freshmen have fire. Yes, they will make mistakes, but we have a player out on the court who played 34 minutes and can muster up one single point. Give the freshmen a chance. Why not?