Underwood, Illini begin rebuild after being eliminated from NCAA Tournament
went on to lose 84-75.
While a majority of the team — including Kylan Boswell, Tre White, Tomislav Ivisic, and Morez Johnson could likely run it back next season, the transfer portal opened on Monday — and Head Coach Brad Underwood's work to rebuild now begins.
How much work is cut out for Underwood depends on what Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley decide to do. Both are expected to be NBA Draft picks.
"No idea if it's the last or not the last," said Jakucionis, "but this year, I think I learned a lot. I grew a lot as a player and as a person."
"That would be awesome if they came back, but I know for a fact those two have got to go just live out their streams," added Boswell.
Underwood emphasized that the rebuild process has just begun.
"It's literally just next step. It's speed dating. It's gathering information," he said. "We've got a pretty good idea of that. We've got a lot of really smart people on our staff who have been working really hard at it, gathering information, figuring out what our roster looks like for '25-'26."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Lakers jersey history No. 4 — Adrian Dantley
Through the 2024-25 season, the Los Angeles Lakers have had a total of 506 players suit up for them, going back to their days in Minneapolis. Some were forgettable, some were serviceable, some were good and a select few were flat-out legendary. As the Lakers approach their 80th season of existence (they were founded back in 1946 as the Detroit Gems in the National Basketball League), LeBron Wire is taking a look at each player who has worn their jersey, whether it has been a purple and gold one or the ones they donned back in the Midwest during their early years. Here's a look at a player who some may not know once played for the Lakers — Adrian Dantley. Dantley had a stellar individual stint at the University of Notre Dame, not exactly a school known for its basketball program. In three years there, he averaged 25.8 points and 9.8 rebounds a game, and he peaked at 30.4 points a game as a sophomore. When he was a freshman during the 1973-74 season, the Fighting Irish were the team that ended the University of California, Los Angeles' 88-game winning streak. The Bruins were led by legends such as center Bill Walton and forward Jamaal Wilkes and were coached by the iconic John Wooden. Just after his college career ended, Dantley earned an Olympic gold medal with the United States. He was taken with the No. 6 pick in the 1976 NBA Draft by the Buffalo Braves. Early in his second NBA season, he was traded to the Lakers. The Lakers were trying to build a championship team around Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and he didn't do too badly. In one and a half seasons with them, he averaged 18.3 points a game while shooting 51.5% from the field. But L.A. was simply too unbalanced to get over the hump. It had Dantley, a 6-foot-5 forward, and Wilkes, who was 6-foot-6, starting at the forward spots, and neither was able to support Abdul-Jabbar defensively or on the boards. With Magic Johnson coming on board as a rookie in 1979, the Lakers traded Dantley to the Utah Jazz for the talented but troubled Spencer Haywood. In Utah, he truly started to blossom — he would average 29.6 points a game in seven seasons with the Jazz and lead the NBA in scoring twice. He then played two seasons and change with the Detroit Pistons before getting traded to the Dallas Mavericks midway through the 1988-89 campaign. No matter where he went, Dantley made an impact with his immense scoring skills. Despite his less-than-ideal height as a small forward, he had an excellent low-post game, and he was also a free throw magnet who shot 81.8% from the charity stripe for his career.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Kenrich Williams receives Key to the City from hometown of Waco, Texas
When you win an NBA championship, expect a busy summer where you're praised for the special achievement only a handful of players earn every year. The Oklahoma City Thunder have seen that firsthand over the last two months. The Thunder completed one of the greatest seasons ever with the Larry O'Brien trophy. A historic 68-14 regular season translated to the playoffs. They captured a championship with a Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 NBA Finals. As the NBA enters its dead period of the calendar, players across the league have returned to their hometowns for the next two months before the 2025-26 regular season starts. Back in Waco, Texas, Kenrich Williams was welcomed like an NBA champion. Williams received a Key to the City from his hometown of Waco. He joins a long list of Thunder players who received gifts and were celebrated when they returned to their homes this offseason after they won an NBA championship. Waco Mayor Jim Holmes announced the special occasion on social media. "We were honored to host a Champion in our most recent City Council Meeting, as Waco Native Son Kenrich Williams came back to Waco after starring in the recent Oklahoma City Thunder NBA Playoff Championship," Holmes wrote. "He was an outstanding student-athlete at Waco University High and Texas Christian University, and I was proud to present Kenrich with a Key to the City. A wonderful guy with a beautiful family; and a really cool Mom!" Kenrich Williams is one of the longest-tenured active Thunder players with five seasons under his belt. Only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort have been in OKC longer. From being a throw-in in the 2020 Steven Adams trade to carving out a rotation spot, he's had one of the better developmental stories. Williams averaged 6.3 points and 3.5 rebounds last season. He shot 38.6% from 3 on 2.5 attempts. The 30-year-old helped the Thunder in their championship run. He was a matchup-dependent rotation player who enabled OKC to play small-ball in the playoffs when needed. Williams has always been proud of growing up in Texas. He spent four college seasons at TCU from 2014-18. The Horned Frogs retired his jersey in 2024. He goes back to Waco every offseason to hold basketball camp and do giveaways for kids. Kenrich Williams was given a Key to the City from his hometown of Waco on Saturday
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Brooklyn Nets jersey history No. 22 - Jim Eakins (1976)
The Brooklyn Nets have 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players over the course of their history since the franchise was founded in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), when the team was known as the "New Jersey Americans". Since then, that league has been absorbed by the NBA with the team that would later become the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets before settling on the name by which they are known today, bringing their rich player and jersey history with them to the league of today. To commemorate the players who played for the Nets over the decades wearing those 52 different jersey numbers, Nets Wire is covering the entire history of the franchise's jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. The 23rd of those 52 different numbers is jersey No. 22, which has has had a total of 31 players wear the number in the history of the team. The 10th of those players wearing No. 22 played in the (then) New York (now, Brooklyn) Nets era, big man alum Jim Eakins. After ending his college career at BYU, Eakins was picked up with the 57th overall selection of the 1968 NBA Draft by the (then) San Francisco (now, Golden State) Warriors. The Sacramento, California native instead signed with the ABA's (defunct) Oakland Oaks. He also played for the (also defunct) Washington Caps/(yes, also defunct) Virginia Squires, (yep, defunct) Utah Stars, and squires again before he was dealt to New York in 1976. His stay with the team would span just 36 games before he would move to the NBA and then be dealt to the (then) Kansas City (now, Sacramento) Kings that same year. During his time suiting up for the Nets, Eakins wore only jersey No. 22 and put up 6.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
