Will Riley Continues Impressive Start with Illinois

Five-star freshman Will Riley has continued to look the part of a future lottery pick for Illinois.

Nov 20, 2024; Birmingham, AL, USA; Illinois forward Will Riley (7) attempts to block a shot by Alabama center Clifford Omoruyi (11) in the CM Newton Classic at Legacy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Coming into the 2024-25 collegiate season, many looked to Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis as the top NBA Draft prospect on the team. And while the jumbo guard very well still could be, forward Will Riley has turned plenty of heads in the team’s first handful of games.

Riley's most recent outing — an 87-40 slam of Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday night — featured 19 points on a phenomenal 7-for-11 shooting. He hit two of his five attempted triples, adding three rebounds, one assists and one block.

Through all five games, Riley has added a scoring spark, adding no less than 14 points in all but one, and topping out at 31 points in his collegiate debut.

In his first five, Riley is averaging 17.8 points on 51% shooting, including an impressive 6.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists. So far, he’s shooting a blistering 71% from beyond the arc, a number that’s sure to fall as the season wears on, but is still a great indication of the confidence in his outside stroke.

If those numbers were to hold, there’s little question Riley would be a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. At 6-foot-8, he’s already impressed as a mover and scorer, and his affinity for stuffing the stat sheet in other areas is sure to sit well with NBA front offices. So far, he’s seen a nice mix of on and off-ball scoring, too.

All in all, Riley will be one to monitor as we cruise towards conference play, which should reveal plenty about the 2025 class.

Illinois will face three ranked opponents in its next five games in No. 20 Arkansas, No. 19 Wisconsin and No. 11 Tennessee.

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