5. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn is quickly moving into a sixth-man role
Coming into the 2024-25 campaign, I didn’t think the holdovers from the Illinois basketball Elite 8 run were going to make a big splash.
Ty Rodgers ended up taking a redshirt, and the other holdover, Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn was likely going to be a deep bench player. I thought the Illini were just going to ride with the newcomers for much of the year.
What the last few games have taught me is that not only is Gibbs-Lawhorn going to be a contributor on this team, but I think there is a legitimate chance he moves into the sixth-man role and is the first off the bench in the coming games.
Gibbs-Lawhorn had a great first game of the season, as he dropped 21 points. He went silent after that, though. He didn’t hit double-digit points again until the Chicago State game on December 29.
Over the last three contests, Gibbs-Lawhorn has played the best basketball of his college career. In this span, he is averaging 11.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. Brad Underwood has also bumped his minutes up, as he is averaging 20 minutes per game in the past three contests as well.
Illinois doesn’t have much in the way of guard play coming off the bench, so Gibbs-Lawhorn is the main option. With that being said, Gibbs-Lawhorn is still playing better than anyone the Illini bring off the bench. He finished the Washington game with eight points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. His electric play gives this program a jolt.
Look for Gibbs-Lawhorn to continue to log about 20 minutes per game the rest of the way. This kid has the talent Illinois needs to suffocate teams down the stretch.