Illinois Basketball lands Jeremiah Williams

Does Jeremiah Williams fit Illinois Basketball?

Illinois Basketball has unfortunately missed out on their top target in the transfer portal. After a long and winding recruitment, Dennis chose to take his talents south to the Baylor Bears. Unfortunately, Illinois put a lot into this recruitment. Brad Underwood and his staff spent the better part of the last two months trying to land RayJ Dennis. Anyone would have; the Plainfield native would have made this current Illinois roster a favorite to at least finish in the Top 3. However, Illinois got burned. Time is running out and options are scant. There are some players, however, that have yet to transfer out of their schools as grad transfers and some familiar faces still in the portal.

A familiar face.

Last year, Illinois was linked to Jeremiah Williams. Williams is a 6 foot 4 guard who spent two years playing at Temple. He is initially from Chicago,IL and actually played AAU ball for Meanstreets. Tim Anderson was heavily involved in Williams’ recruitment, however he decided to commit to Iowa State instead. Unfortunately, Williams never saw the court at Ames, as he tore his Achilles prior to the season.

After rehab, Williams decided to enter the transfer portal. Though there are many legitimate concerns about Williams, I think Illinois has no other choice. Williams may not be the true lead guard that RayJ Dennis is, he showed some promise during his years at Temple. In quick fashion, Illinois Basketball landed a commit from Jeremiah.

What he does well?

First off, Williams would provide a solid defensive presence at the guard position. According to Synergy, Williams graded out in the 90th percentile of the NCAA during the 2021-22 season. He has the length to be a defensive pest, and the numbers back that up. He also has the physicality to get to the lane on offense. Statistically, Williams averaged 9.5 points, 4.3 assists and 1.4 steals during his Sophomore year.

The Concerns:

First off, Williams shot 23 percent from three as a Sophomore. Though the Temple teams he played on were a huge reason behind his shooting woes, this is a massive concern if we want to talk about spacing the floor for Terrence Shannon, Coleman Hawkins and Dain Dainja. Additionally, Williams has not played for two years. He tore his achilles last year and actually had season ending right  shoulder surgery prior to transferring out of Temple.

These are major concerns, however Illinois does not have much of a choice. They need a body to roll the dice on, and frankly, Williams is the only sensible dice roll. Michigan took a flyer on Nimari Burnett and this situation is rather similar. If Illinois decides to take Jeremiah Williams, expect Adonis De La Rosa like production. If you remember, Illinois was in desperate need of a Big man prior to the 2018-19 season and took a flyer on Adonis De La Rosa from Kent State. De La Rosa averaged 12 and 8 at Kent state, however tore his ACL to end the season.

Given the injury history, it is hard not to imagine much different.