How Illinois basketball will make major adjustments defensively

Brad Underwood – Expect Changes on the Defensive End

Illinois basketball head coach Brad Underwood carved out time to speak with the media following the team’s first day of practice. He touched on a variety of topics, including adjustments to the defensive game plan for the upcoming season.

“There will be a decent amount of changes,” Underwood said.

One of the biggest offseason moves was the addition of assistant coach Camryn Crocker from Colgate, brought in to provide a fresh perspective and help fix the defensive struggles that have plagued the Illini over the past two years.

According to KenPom, Illinois ranked No. 40 and No. 80 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency the past two seasons.

Underwood went on by saying, “We are trying to be more active and creative in terms of coming up with steals and being more aggressive there. I think we are trying to utilize our length in some different ways.”

The numbers highlight the problem. In 2023–24, Illinois ranked No. 360 in turnover percentage, No. 352 in steal percentage, and No. 222 in block percentage. Last season, they again ranked No. 360 in both turnover and steal percentage.

Forcing turnovers has clearly been a major weakness, but this year’s roster appears built to change that if utilized correctly.

The likely rotation features a significant size:

•   6’6 Jake Davis
•   6’6 Ty Rodgers (potentially)
•   6’6 Keaton Wagler
•   6’7 Andrej Stojakovic
•   6’9 Ben Humrichous
•   6’9 David Mirkovic
•   6’10 Jason Jakstys
•   7’1 Tomislav Ivisic
•   7’2 Zvonimir Ivisic

In addition to their length, Illinois has two quick guards in Kylan Boswell and Mihailo Petrovic who can apply pressure on opposing backcourts. Expect the Illini to stick with their deep drop ball-screen coverage, but with more stabs, stunts, and aggressive plays designed to free up Boswell and Petrovic for steals.

It’s no secret that Illinois basketball must improve defensively to make a Final Four run. With new ideas from the staff, fans should anticipate noticeable changes on that end of the floor this season.

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