Nov 23, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Will Riley (7) shoots the ball over Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks forward Jalen Ware (24) during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images Illinois wing Will Riley could still be in high school. The freshman reclassified in the spring to go to college this fall.
Riley also could be in the starting lineup for No. 25 Illinois. The 6-foot-8 Canadian has found a way to lead the Fighting Illini (4-1) in scoring despite coming off the bench in all games to date.
Entering Monday’s non-conference home game against Little Rock (3-3) in Champaign, Riley paces Illinois in scoring (18 points per game) and 3-point shooting (14 of 22). He is adding six rebounds per game.
Riley is athletic and long enough to crash the offensive glass effectively and skilled enough to get his own shot whenever the ball is in his hands. He even took a spin at point guard late in Illinois’ 87-40 win over Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday.
“Will just hoops,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “Will just simply … I’m going to use a guy’s name, Michael Beasley, that I was around at Kansas State. Nothing fazes them. Nothing fazes Will.”
Beasley, of course, was a one-and-done at Kansas State. After he averaged 26.2 points and 12.4 rebounds for the Wildcats, he went No. 2 in the 2008 NBA Draft. Riley doesn’t seem likely to go that high in the draft, but maybe that’s underestimating his ability to adapt and improve.
For example, when Illinois played at No. 8 Alabama on Wednesday, Riley missed his first four field goals and first two free throws in the opening 12 minutes. He looked a little rushed and tried some atypical shots trying to solve Alabama’s tall and athletic frontcourt.
Then, with 6:23 left in the first half, Riley showed he’s a fast learner. He got the ball at the top of the arc, faked a shot to get his defender to fly past, then took one small step to the left and cashed in a 3-pointer. He finished with a team-high 18 points, a career-high nine rebounds and four assists with no turnovers in a 100-87 loss to the Crimson Tide.
“He just plays the game. The thing I was most upset with him at Alabama was he took contested twos with about 20 seconds on the shot clock,” Underwood said.
And he sees great potential in his freshman.
“When he learns to continue to get fouled, phew. Those are what lottery picks look like,” Underwood said of Riley. “He’s got a gift to not be worried about what I say, not be worried about a missed shot (or) a bad half. He just plays in the moment and takes what the game gives him.”
Riley and the Illini figure to face their second-toughest test of the season so far in Little Rock, which collected 20 of the 22 first-place votes in the Ohio Valley Conference’s preseason poll, with teams unable to vote for themselves.
On Friday night, Little Rock fought back from a 22-point first-half deficit at No. 20 Arkansas to get as close as seven points before winding up with a 79-67 loss.
“I think if we hadn’t dug such a big hole for ourselves in the first half, it would have been a lot easier for us to stay in the game,” forward Mwani Wilkinson said.
While the Trojans have high expectations, they’re not at 100 percent. OVC preseason player of the year KK Robinson could miss the whole season due to a knee injury suffered in late October, while backup power forward Creed Williamson — the son of Corliss Williamson, a two-time All-American at Arkansas and a former 12-year NBA player — has missed the past two games with a foot injury.
In their absence, Creighton transfer Johnathan Lawson (16.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, four assists) and Wilkinson (17.2 points), an LSU grad transfer, give the Trojans a pair of productive wings with high-major size and experience. They’re also prolific 3-point shooters who each hit at a 41 percent clip or higher.
“We’re going to see a team that mixes up defenses,” Underwood said. “This is a very good Little Rock team. Let’s not forget they could have been an NCAA Tournament team last year. They’re very long, very athletic.”
–Field Level Media