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CHAMPAIGN — Jake Davis had a unique perspective on the Illinois men’s basketball team’s ever-evolving roster this offseason.
Davis committed to the Illini on April 1. The Mercer transfer made that decision not knowing what his new team might look like in the next week or the next month, let alone come November and the start of the 2024-25 season.
Consider Davis’ commitment the first domino of Illinois’ roster reload. Dain Dainja opted to enter the transfer portal that same day, and five of his teammates from the Illini’s Elite Eight team ultimately made the same decision.
That left Illinois coach Brad Underwood no choice but a near wholesale overhaul.
Davis was the first of five transfers to pick the Illini. The rest of April saw Underwood and Co. add Tre White (Southern California/Louisville), Kylan Boswell (Arizona), Carey Booth (Notre Dame) and Ben Humrichous (Evansville). May and June saw the addition of three more freshmen — Tomislav Ivisic, Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley — to join early signees Morez Johnson Jr. and Jason Jakstys.
“For me, it was super fun,” Davis told The News-Gazette about seeing the roster evolve during the course of three months. “I’m seeing a bunch of guys I’ve seen and heard of around the country all join the team. You could really see everything start to piece together and see the type of team we’re going to have.
“Obviously, there was a bunch of unknowns at that time, but I think the coaches did a really good job of bringing in everybody we needed and giving us a good team and good depth to be really good this year.”
Davis didn’t enter his freshman season at Mercer with designs on leaving the Bears after one season. The McCordsville, Ind., native simply didn’t want to be a weak link for the Southern Conference team.
Two items changed that.
For one, Davis was far from a weak link. The 6-foot-6 forward averaged nine points and 4.5 rebounds for Mercer and knocked down 39 percent of his 155 three-point attempts. But his emergence as a legitimate scoring option late in the season didn’t change the fact the Bears went 16-17 and finished eighth in the 10-team SoCon. Greg Gary’s firing changed the stay-or-go calculus.
“Obviously, my goal all the time was to play at the highest level I can,” Davis said. “Going there I wasn’t thinking the whole time, ‘Oh, I’ve got to get out of here.’ It didn’t really come into question until the end of the year when we weren’t doing so great and there were thoughts our coach might get fired.
“I really liked the coaching staff down there. It sucks that we didn’t do what we needed to do there. I’m super grateful for the experience because it got me to where I am now. Then again, I’m super happy to be here.”
Davis had plenty of mid-major and low-major teams reach out after he entered the portal. Illinois was the first power-conference program to express interest, but he had only rudimentary conversations with the staff during the NCAA tournament.
It wasn’t until the Illini’s season ended in the Elite Eight that Davis’ courtship intensified. Then it moved fast. Illinois lost to eventual national champs Connecticut on March 30. Two days later, Davis committed in an easy decision given how many boxes the Illini checked as a Big Ten program close to home that had emerged as one of the top teams in the country.
“Everybody really freaked out,” Davis said about telling his family and friends about Illinois’ initial interest. “Moms was crying. Pops was super proud. It was a great day even when they just reached out. It wasn’t even anything. I just told them Illinois called.
“I grew up watching Big Ten basketball. It was super fun and surreal being able to come play here and be given this opportunity. For me, it was a big, ‘You made it,’ almost. I’m not saying I’m done, but it was a big eye opener and a personal thing of success. I felt accomplished.”
Davis checked several boxes for Illinois, too. That he was Mercer’s top three-point shooter appealed to Underwood given the Illini coach’s intent to up the three-point ante this season. So did the fact Davis came from a successful high school program Indianapolis Cathedral, where he won a state championship and set the career record for charges taken in Indiana high school basketball history.
“That’s a great stat to have, a great characteristic to have, because it usually means he’s going to do whatever it takes to win,” Underwood said. “With his ability to put the ball in the basket at a high clip, it’s nice to know you’ve got somebody in there who’s willing to sacrifice for their teammates.”
Davis’ shooting stats also qualified as great to have. Illinois shifted gears offensively last season, leaning on a combination of big wings, ‘booty ball’ and a 5-man capable of playing in space and stretching the floor. Of everything Underwood prioritized in rebuilding his roster, shooting was at the top of the list.
“He is just a net stripper,” Underwood said of Davis. “He is a guy that can really shoot it, and he can shoot it off the move. He’s a guy we felt has that ability to do a lot of things in terms of the way we want to play and be able to space the floor. He’s a young kid — he’s got three years — so I’m really, really excited about what he brings.”
What role Davis plays for Illinois this season is to be determined. As the first of a cavalcade of newcomers to join the team, he’s aware of just how much talent there is on the roster. Something that was reinforced during the Illini’s summer workouts even if the entire team was never on campus at once. (By the time Ivisic arrived from Croatia, Jakucionis had left to play for Lithuania in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket).
“It’s obviously a lot different from Mercer,” Davis said. “At Mercer, toward the end of the year, I was one of the go-to guys. Here, it’s super fun because everybody can play. Everybody is great at what they do. ... Personally, I could care less if I go in there and I’m the go-to guy. Especially on a team like this.
“I just want to see wins on the board. If we go undefeated and I play zero minutes, I’m happy. A team like this, it will be fun and interesting to see with our depth. Really, on every team I’ve played on, I’ve never been, in my opinion, the best player on my team. I’ve come into that role of being a role player and knowing my role and contributing that way and trying to do all the little things.”
Scott Richey covers college basketball for The News-Gazette. His email is srichey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@srrichey).
