Illinois Basketball Needs Niccolo Moretti

Illinois Basketball needs Niccolo Moretti

In yesterday’s win against Iowa, Illinois Basketball hit what seemed like a crossroads in their season. After around 2 minutes into the second half, Illinois Basketball looked like they were about to go on another lull. The balance of the game laid there as Ty Rodgers and Coleman Hawkins did not communicate on a baseline out-of-bounds play. This allowed an easy, wide-open layup for the Iowa Hawkeyes, and Brad Underwood had to make a decision. Brad Underwood did the hockey switch. He took out his five starters in favor of his bench, including Niccolo Moretti and Amani Hansberry.

With the season flashing before our eyes, here we were looking at two players who rarely play coming in to save the day. Luckily enough, this move by Underwood paid off. Hansberry brought physicality and intensity to the game that Sencire Harris was so famous for. Also, Nico Moretti showed Illini Nation that he can help this team.

The True Point Guard

Illinois Basketball has had the “point guard issue”. That was incredibly evident with the multiple late-game collapses. Marcus Domask has done an incredible job of playing out of position in those situations, however, the offense just has a different “hum” to it with a true point guard in the lineup. That is exactly what Nico Moretti does. He has excellent control in the half-court and is that guy who can just make the proper pass. He also is way more comfortable pushing the ball up the floor after a miss than Ty Rodgers is. This allows Illinois to take advantage of their athleticism and burst when they somehow get a defensive stop.

Moretti found Dainja and Hansberry on multiple occasions which turned the tide in the game. Not to mention, he knocked down two key three-pointers. Moretti finished with 9 points.

Questions?

The Question is defensively. Moretti is a small-statured guy, to say the least, but his effort is there. Since Illinois has been awful defensively, why not give the guy who allows for so much more offensive stability off the bench? Brad Underwood has to find a way to involve Nico and Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn in the rotation. If those two can find ways to be useful, this Illinois Basketball team will be a force in March.

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