Illinois basketball: Role identification amidst injuries lead to second straight loss

Illinois basketball is struggling with what plagued them early in the season. Role identification. After winning 12 straight games, including five without their senior guard Kylan Boswell, many hopped on the Illini bandwagon as a dark-horse for a national championship. However, fast forward to now, and Illinois has lost two games in a row. Though the losses are to NCAA tournament teams, the Illini let both of these games slip through their hands. With Kylan Boswell and Andrej Stojakovic out vs Wisconsin, the importance of role definition became more evident than ever.

If you tune into the Armchair Illini Podcast, Guests and I have always harped on successful teams having guys who fit their respective roles. At the beginning of the season, as Andrej Stojakovic, Tomislav Ivisic, and Mihailo Petrovic made their way back into the roster, Illinois struggled with this exact same issue. They figured roles out after the home loss to Nebraska, thanks in large part to proper practice time. However, with Stojakovic being a last-minute scratch, Underwood ran a strict 6-man rotation. Notably, all six players fell into roles they should not have played.

Scatterred Roles

For example, for as much as fans love Jake Davis, he has shown that he should not be playing more than 20 minutes a game at the Big Ten level. He can shoot the ball, but only if the shot is created by someone else. He has a below-average handle and is limited athletically, which limits his rebounding and defensive prowess. Davis is used to that role, but when asked to play 37 minutes last night and try to check Wisconsin’s explosive backcourt, fatigue ultimately kicks in. The same can be said for Ben Humrichous and even David Mirkovic, who was tasked with assuming the point guard’s role in spots.

When fatigue kicks in, the ability to crash the offensive glass becomes impaired, the adherence to the scouting report falls apart, and free throws get missed. Though Underwood did not have too many options, it is mind-boggling that he did not look towards Mihailo Petrovic or Brandon Lee to play spot minutes.

What next?

This is not to say that the Illini would have won if Brandon Lee or Mihailo Petrovic played 10 minutes. However, you have to wonder what lingering effects this has on your star guard, Keaton Wagler. Wagler has played 86 minutes in the last two games and will next face tough backcourts the rest of the way. Next weekend, Lamar Wilkerson, Conor Enright, and Nick Dorn come to town. After that, Illinois basketball heads west to face Alijah Arenas and USC, then Donovan Dent at UCLA.

At this point, you just hope that Kylan Boswell and Andrej Stojakovic are healthy and able to return soon. Otherwise, this model of Illinois basketball cannot be successful.

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