Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn Had an Electric Debut for Illinois Basketball

With 15 minutes left in the first half of the Illinois Basketball team’s first exhibition game against Eastern Illinois freshman Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn made his earliest appearance of the year. The Illini were down 11-4 at the time and needed a spark. Gibbs-Lawhorn responded, making his presence felt in a variety of ways en route to a game high 18 points, three rebounds and three assists. Against an opponent as poor as the Panthers, it can be hard to tell how much will transfer to the Big Ten.

Defense

With Sencire Harris now redshirting, Gibbs-Lawhorn is cleared for a solid role off the bench. What will earn him the most minutes will be his ability to play in drop coverage and get around screens. Right when he checked in he guarded Tiger Booker. Booker ended with the most shots for the Panthers, and they go right to him when Gibbs-Lawhorn checks in:

Gibbs-Lawhorn does a great job navigating the possession, forcing a tough jump shot. He’s a twitchy and competitive athlete. When Gibbs-Lawhorn and Dain Dainja are on the floor he will need to really guard ball screens. Harris provided very high-level ball screen defense, and while Gibbs-Lawhorn won’t be able to replicate that, he can provide a similar level of athleticism defensively.

Case in point his first real highlight of the night. After a long miss, the Panthers look like they have a fastbreak basket, only for Gibbs-Lawhorn to make a great play at the basket:

As the Illini want to play fast, they need players who can create quick shifts like this. Crashing the glass like Brad Underwood wants the team to do will leave them vulnerable in transition, where their guards will need to make plays defensively.

Offense

Again, against a team like the Panthers, offensive highlights come quick and easy. Gibbs-Lawhorn had a number of impressive plays on his way to the 18 points, however a couple stand out as they can happen against any competition.

First, his ability to play off the ball. In his last season of AAU he played a lot off the ball to accommodate now MSU freshman Jeremy Fears on their Indy Heat EYBL team. That shows in this clip, he backdoors the dribble handoff, receives a nice pass from Marcus Domask, and then finishes the play with a nice pass of his own to Dainja:

Being able to make the right cuts will make him more playable with the starting group, as he can add scoring punch and spacing around the Illini’s stars. He can also provide plus rebounding from the guard spot with his athleticism. In transition this will be an asset, as he can crash the glass freely off slashes to the rim:

When the Illini’s dudes aren’t on the floor, he can provide on ball creation. He never lacks in confidence and has a variety of tools in his bag. He is especially dangerous in transition where he can attack freely:

It’s not a particularly great shot, but it shows how easy he can get his jumper off. His smooth form translates well to off platform shots. When he gets going, he has that same explosive scoring burst Jayden Epps does. Right after that shot, he showed off his deep range from three:

We all know the questions about Illinois shooting. Gibbs-Lawhorn is known as more of a streaky shooter than a true deadeye. However, he has made multiple threes every game he’s played more than five minutes, and as such will be guarded when he spots up.

Bigger Role

No one player will replace Harris’ profile. He has the ability to flip games against the best guards in America on defense. That is an extremely rare and valuable trait. With the right mindset, Gibbs-Lawhorn can help make it not a massive loss. He also provides a lot more offensively than Harris.

Gibbs-Lawhorn has the talent to be a boon for the Illini, and with the talent they have already, he doesn’t need to play hero. Not every night will have 18 points, but he can be a consistent contributor.