Illinois basketball is tabbed as one of the top programs in the country entering the season, but injuries have brought up some questions about stability.
Losing David Mirkovic before the season started is tough. Jake Davis then went down in the first game against Fairleigh Dickinson. The question remains as to when either player will return, but through two games, Brad Underwood has been hitting all of the right buttons when it comes to getting the most out of his team.
In the postgame press conference after the 32-point drubbing of Penn, Underwood explained how Illinois is filling the voids left by Mirkovic and Davis.
“I call them The Army. We have an Army full of guys.”
Underwood is referring to the great depth Illinois built in the offseason, the majority of which are true freshmen.
“I thought Lincoln (Williams), his first rotation, was really poor. I thought he was very casual and sluggish and didn’t help us a lick and made two defensive mistakes. I challenged him, and I thought he really impacted the game at a high level.”
The Army continued to get praise from their General.
“Zavier Zens makes so few mistakes. You can see why his team won 82 games in high school. Lucas (Morillo), the same. And then you throw the other two in, and Landon (Davis) is coming…I thought The Army was great.”
This type of Illinois basketball depth is something I am not sure we have seen before
Illinois has tremendous depth this season, and that is what Underwood is touching on when he calls the depth The Army.
The Illini went 10 deep against Penn on Thursday night, and those 10 players are going to see real minutes in each game. It is not like they are only going to play in garbage time. Illinois, with both Mirkovic and Davis hurt, is still going 10 deep.
What that means is that there will be a point this season when Illinois has to make some tough decisions. While we are going 10 players deep right now, Mirkovic and Davis will be back. Who is going to see reduced minutes?
Illinois could give opponents so much trouble by eventually going 12 players deep and not missing a beat.
Just look at the numbers from the first two games. The Army that is filling in the voids left by Mirkovic and Davis has been incredible.
Zens has attempted 15 three-pointers through two games, more than any Illinois player. He is shooting 40% from deep. Ethan Brown and Stefan Vaaks are both coming off the bench, and they have attempted double-digit three-point attempts. Brown is at 50%, and Vaaks is at 45.5% from three-point range.
Illinois’ leading rebounders are Brown and Williams at 9.5 rebounds and 9.0 rebounds per game, respectively. Both are part of The Army.
Underwood has Illinois playing at a high level despite missing two starters. He has built the roster to a level I am not sure we have seen before. His Army is ready to go to battle on any given night.
Add us as a preferred source on Google