Much like a comet, Will Riley entered the Illinois basketball orbit and was soon gone in the blink of an eye.
The way college basketball is today has me yearning for the days of old when even elite players stayed a few seasons. Those days are long gone, but I digress. The Illini had a special young talent in Riley, and now he is cutting his teeth with the Washington Wizards in the NBA Summer League.
Riley’s first Summer League display out in Las Vegas wasn’t great.
In the first game, which was a 19-point loss to the Phoenix Suns, Riley was on the court for 20 minutes and was just 2-of-6 from the field for five points and three rebounds. Those are meek numbers, and at this level, meek gets you nowhere.
On Sunday night, you could watch the confidence in Riley rise as the game went on. Washington took on the Brooklyn Nets, and the contest was close down the stretch. Down 81-80, the Wizards needed a lift. Riley had the answers.
In the final 5:13 of the game, Riley had eight points and one assist on 2-of-2 shooting from the field and 1-of-1 from three-point range. He also made all three free throws attempted. This helped propel Washington to a 102-96 victory.
Will Riley absolutely taking over this game. Scoring. Passing. Thing of beauty. #Illini
— Writing Illini (@WritingIlliniFS) July 14, 2025
Illinois basketball fans have seen this type of confidence boost out of Will Riley in the past
Riley was one of the big performers of the night. He finished the win over the Nets with 16 points and three assists, while not turning the ball over once. He was also 5-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from both the three-point arc and the charity stripe.
From game one to game two in the Summer League, Riley took such a massive step. He is a shooter through and through, and he can’t shy away from that. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, and Riley needs to embrace that mentality.
Illinois got to see a little bit of this during his one season in Champaign. Early on in the season, he was looking good, but when tougher competition came around, Riley went into hiding. It took him a minute, but he gained confidence and started becoming the true bucket-getter we all know he is.
In the months of December and January, Riley only had five double-digit scoring games in the 13 contests Illinois played. In the months of February and March, Riley had 13 double-digit scoring outings out of the 15 games the Illini played. It was an incredible development for the young star.
Washington has a special talent in Riley. He is starting to get confidence at the NBA level now. A confident Riley is a scary Riley to the rest of the NBA.