Illinois Basketball: Underwood sings praises of Ben Humrichous at Media Day

Brad Underwood sat down with CBS Sports Senior Writer, Matt Norlander at Big Ten Media Day to discuss a variety of topics surrounding Illinois Basketball. With Terrence Shannon Jr., Coleman Hawkins, and Marcus Domask moving on this past offseason, the Illini have a lot to replace. One of the main questions is who is likely to replace those cornerstones of the team. Coach Underwood responded with a handful of names such as Kylan Boswell, Will Riley, Kasparas Jakucionis, Tre White, and Ben Humrichous.

When Underwood got to Humrichous, he stated that he was “So impressed” with the graduate transfer from Evansville.

“Beyond tough. He ran a 4:19 mile. He’s a guy that can really shoot it” 

A lot of talent but a lot of unknown

Illinois basketball is in a unique position. They are fresh off one of their best seasons in program history, however, are looking at an entirely new roster. Brad Underwood and his staff set out in the transfer portal and did an admirable job replacing the talent on this roster. Despite this, there are a lot of questions to be asked of this talented roster. After years of having a known “go-to guy” and an established veteran of the program, Illinois Basketball does not evidently have that.

They have two returning players, Ty Rodgers and Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn. Of note though, neither has been asked to carry a heavy load during their time with Illinois Basketball. Ben Humrichous is someone that Illinois is going to heavily rely upon. The 6 foot 9 graduate transfer is a lights-out shooter who shot 41.4 percent from three last year. He has a lot of versatility and could possibly carry this Illinois Basketball offense

The Ben Humrichous hype train is a theme of the day at Big Ten Media Days. Illinois coach Brad Underwood brought him up and his teammates are raving about the Evansville transfer’s ability to drill it from downtown.

Kylan Boswell: “He’s been killing it, lowkey.”

— Isaac Trotter (@Isaac__Trotter) October 3, 2024

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