Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn ends speculation on future with the Illinois basketball team

While Illinois basketball is entering the uncertainty of an offseason, we do have confirmation one young talent is returning.

Now that the Illini have officially entered the offseason after a tough loss to UConn, the real fun begins of who is staying and who is going.

We already know that there are going to be massive departures due to aging out, but will any Illinois players who aren’t seniors decide to leave the program?

After the game, Illinois received word of what Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn would do. There has been speculation swirling around Gibbs-Lawhorn and how he might decide to transfer out of the program. That speculation has now been squashed.

In a social media post, Gibbs-Lawhorn thanked the seniors on the team and how he wouldn’t have gotten through the season without them. He then ends the post with a classic clip from The Wolf of Wall Street. Click play to see for yourself…

Ending the speculation of whether he is going or not is smart for Gibbs-Lawhorn. Without an announcement, fan’s minds can run wild and that creates even more speculation. Now, the Illini future just got a little brighter with the guard returning for the 2024-25 season.

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn had a mixed bag during his freshman season with the Illinois basketball program

As a freshman, Gibbs-Lawhorn averaged 2.4 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game. He saw action in 28 games this season but only averaged 7.1 minutes per contest.

The lack of time on the court had nothing to do with his game, though. Illinois brought in a lot of transfer portal talent so that pushed Gibbs-Lawhorn back on the roster.

In the time we did get to see Gibbs-Lawhorn on the court, there were positives to take away. He is a great energy guy. When Illinois is looking sluggish, Gibbs-Lawhorn can pick up the pace.

There is definitely a confidence and ability to shoot the basketball. While he only shot 22.2% from three-point range this season, that is a small sample size. He only got one or two three-point attempts per game.

Illinois’ future plans include Gibbs-Lawhorn. He is a good player who can develop into a dynamic scorer on the offensive end of the court. With him back in the fold, Illinois can get a better idea of who we will have on the roster next season.