Basketball
Jake Davis Gives Illinois Basketball Another Dangerous 3-Point Shooter
It is easy to forget just how good Jake Davis is.
That might sound strange considering Illinois is coming off a Final Four season and returns a ridiculous amount of talent, but Davis has quietly become one of the most efficient players on Brad Underwood’s roster. In fact, Davis may be one of the more overlooked shooters in college basketball.
JPR (@Scouting_Col) recently released his top 50 shooters for the 2026-27 college basketball season on X. Davis wasn’t on it. That’s obviously one person’s evaluation, but it is still notable that a player who shot 40.6 percent from three last season didn’t make the cut. Davis averaged only 5.4 points per game, but that number doesn’t tell the story. Illinois has so many offensive weapons that Davis doesn’t need to hunt shots or dominate possessions. He simply has to be ready when the ball finds him.
And when it does, he has shown he can make defenses pay. Davis shot 40.6 percent from three on 133 attempts last season, including 36-for-90 in Big Ten play. He had 12 points on 4-for-4 shooting from three at USC, where all four of his shots came from behind the arc. He also hit 4-of-6 threes for 12 points against Maryland and knocked down three 3-pointers at UCLA on his way to nine points. Davis added a team-high seven rebounds in Illinois’ 101-65 win over USC.
Davis is the glue piece
That’s what makes Jake Davis such a valuable piece. He is the “don’t help off him” player. When Illinois gets the ball moving and the defense has to collapse on Mirkovic, Stojakovic, Vaaks, or one of the Ivisic twins, Davis can make a defense pay for leaving him. And at 6-foot-6, he provides that spacing from the forward position without needing the ball in his hands.
The advanced numbers back it up. Davis posted a 61.2 percent effective field-goal percentage, while his 149-plus offensive rating was the best among Illinois players. He also turned the ball over incredibly rarely. His efficiency came without a huge role or high usage.
That may be the biggest reason Davis gets overlooked. Illinois simply has too many guys to talk about.
Mirkovic. Stojakovic. Wagler. Vaaks. Coleman. The Ivisic twins.
But while everyone is watching those guys, Davis will be standing in the corner waiting for the defense to make one mistake. And if Illinois gets that mistake, Jake Davis has already shown he can make them pay.
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