5. Where is the world is Kylan Boswell
Okay, I did a few positive slides, so now it is back to the disappointment. Illinois played one of the worst games of the season on Thursday night, and there is no way to sugarcoat it.
I was disappointed in quite a few players, but Kylan Boswell was easily one of the most disappointing for the Illini. When he came back home after two years at Arizona, I thought Illinois landed a future leader for this team. We needed someone to come in and give the program veteran experience and knowledge.
Boswell hasn’t been that guy. I can sit here and say, he was pretty disappointing Thursday night and for much of the 2024-25 season.
Nebraska was able to shut down Boswell. He finished with eight points, four rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Bowell also had two turnovers and two fouls while shooting 0-of-4 from three-point range.
When Boswell is at his best, he is driving in the lane and using his body around the bucket. When he is at his worst, he is chucking up three-point shots with no purpose. Illinois had a lot of that against Nebraska.
That type of production while burning through 32 minutes of action is disheartening. Boswell has failed to make a three-pointer in four out of the past six games, and in the past eight games, he is 5-of-30, 16.7%, from three-point range. That is an average of 3.75 three-point attempts per game, and those are completely wasted attempts.
Boswell isn’t giving Illinois enough from his experience and knowledge of the game. There is no excuse for him to ever shoot zero free throws in a game, he did that on Thursday. He has not been the guard we need in the backcourt.