Will Riley Going Elsewhere Won't Break Illinois' 2025 Class But Would Say Lots About Brad Underwood

Shandel Richardson | Jun 22, 2024

Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

There is a lot going on with the Illinois football and basketball programs.

The football team is in the middle of recruiting season for 2025 while also preparing for practices to begin in August. The basketball team is paying close attention to where former player Terrence Shannon goes in this week's NBA draft while celebrating his No. 0 jersey eventually making its way to the rafters at State Farm Center.

And then there's Sunday's announcement from high-profile hoops recruit Will Riley, who is listed as the nation's No. 26 player by ESPN. The Illini are among the five finalists on a list that includes Alabama, Arizona, Kentucky and the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL.

Riley plays at The Phelps School in Malvern, Penn., but is from Canada. Landing him won't make the Illini recruiting class but it would say a lot about coach Brad Underwood's commitment to the program.

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Here's what they're saying about Riley:

NBAdraftroom.com -- "At 6-8 (possibly still growing) and with good strength, twitch and agility, he’s tough to handle one on one and is hard to keep out of the lane. He’s a good finisher who uses his size and strength in traffic and can score in a variety of ways."

On3.com -- "The scoring is the exciting part of Riley’s game. Not only is he methodical and precise with how he goes about it, but he also consistently goes out to put up numbers. 
The counting statistics support the eye test in that Will Riley can get buckets. However, the advanced analytics enhance the counting stats to show that Riley’s bag is deep."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher for Illini Now. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com