Freshman Will Riley is ‘ready’ as ever to contribute to Illinois this season

Often a coach will downplay a freshman.

They want to avoid putting pressure on an 18-year-old, allowing him to enter the program without expectations. That’s not the case for Illinois Fighting Illini newcomer Will Riley.

They know his talents. They know what to expect. And they don’t hesitate to raise the bar for him.

“He’s ready. He’s as ready as anyone we’ve had in my opinion,” Illini coach Brad Underwood said. “There’s an ‘It’ factor about him. He just has ‘It’. The game is easy for him.”

Last week, Riley chose the Illini over Alabama, Kentucky and Arizona. That alone shows his ability, with three of the top programs in the country courting him. Last year, the 6-foot-8, 180-pound Riley was dominant enough to rank in the Top 20 nationally while playing at the Phelps School, a prep school in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

He’s considered a short-term prospect, and some analysts are already projecting him as a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA draft if he leaves school early. During the recruiting process, Underwood said he fell in love with watching Riley let the game come to him.

He has the ability to help others improve while scoring on offense.

“I think the night he scored over 40 points in the game we saw, he wasn’t hungry,” Underwood said. “He played within what they gave him. »

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Illini Now. You can contact him at [email protected]

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