In a roster full of new faces and scoring talent, Jake Davis still stands out for something simpler: he makes Illinois work.
Davis took a clear jump in 2025-26 after a limited first season in Champaign. The junior played in all 37 games and opened 22 of them, including the final 19, while averaging 5.4 points and 2.2 rebounds.
The biggest swing came from deep, where he shot 40.6 percent and buried 54 threes, more than doubling his total from the season before. He was a real piece of Illinois’ run to the Final Four.
That production fits the role Davis has carved out. At 6-foot-6, he gives the Illini size on the wing and brings a quick trigger that lets him get shots off before defenders can recover.
He is at his best as a catch-and-shoot threat, especially from the corners, where defenses pay when they leave him alone. He is not a heavy on-ball creator, but he rarely overreaches offensively, which is part of what makes him so efficient.
His value goes beyond the shot chart. Davis made noticeable gains defensively last season, using effort, positioning and basketball IQ to cover for the fact that he is not the quickest or most explosive wing. He plays sound, low-mistake basketball and is willing to handle the unglamorous work on both ends.
Illinois coach Brad Underwood put it plainly at Big Ten media day in October:
"He's a championship-level role player. He's invaluable to our team.
He’s an incredible leader. He’s capable of scoring 20 [points] in a half because he does everything we ask him to do - but he doesn’t need the ball.
And yet he creates great space with his shooting."
Davis entered college at Mercer, where he averaged 9.0 points and 4.5 rebounds as a freshman while shooting 38.7 percent from three. He then moved on through the transfer portal and is now heading into his third season with Illinois under Underwood.
As a senior, Davis is one of the most experienced players on the roster and should remain part of the rotation. With Andrej Stojakovic presumably back in the starting five and several newcomers in the mix, Davis may come off the bench more often than he did late last season. Even so, his shooting, steadiness and willingness to fit any lineup make him a dependable piece for the Illini.
In Other News...
Illinois Defense Is Using The Bye Week To Fix A Costly Problem
The bye week has given Illinois a chance to hit pause and sort through what has gone wrong on defense, and interim coordinator Roger Cooper is treating it as a reset. Cooper said the time off has allowed the staff to blend ideas from his earlier defensive approach with the current system, while Bret Bielema has stressed that the biggest value right now is continuity. For a unit that has had to play through growing pains, the week also offers a chance to get back to basics and clean up the kind of mistakes that have put extra stress on the rest of the team.
There was at least a hint of progress against Michigan State, where Illinois did a better job of limiting explosive plays and came up with a key pass breakup late. Bielema has made it clear the focus remains on shrinking those big gains and creating turnovers, two areas that can quickly change the feel of a game when the defense is still trying to settle in. Whether the bye week turns that improvement into something more lasting is the part Illinois will find out soon enough. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Faces Its Biggest Test Yet Without Its Starting QB
Illinois heads into its October 24 matchup with Oregon at Gies Memorial Stadium in an unusual spot, with both sides dealing with the absence of their starting quarterback. The Illini will lean on freshman Michael Clayton II in a game that suddenly looks far different from the one circled on the schedule, while Oregon is expected to turn to backup Dylan Raiola as the Ducks come in shorthanded too.
For Illinois, the timing adds another layer of pressure in what was already shaping up as a major measuring-stick game. Injury reports have become central to the buildup, along with the numbers that help frame how each offense may have to adjust, and the expert predictions reflect how much the missing quarterbacks change the feel of the matchup. Even with the uncertainty, this still looks like one of the biggest tests on the Illini calendar. [Read more 🡒]
Brad Underwood Faces Real Pressure To Turn Illinois Talent Into A Title
Illinois has spent the past several seasons building a strong reputation for sending talent to the next level, and that matters when a program is trying to prove it can do more than simply reload. Under Brad Underwood, the Illini have consistently produced NBA Draft prospects, which says plenty about the roster building and player development happening in Champaign, even as the bigger prize has remained just out of reach.
Now the conversation shifts from stockpiling talent to cashing it in, with a fresh wave of intrigue around freshmen Ethan Brown and Lincoln Williams and whether they can help push Illinois into Big Ten title contention. The roster has the kind of upside that invites optimism, but it also raises the standard, because a program that keeps producing pros eventually gets judged on whether all that ability turns into championships. [Read more 🡒]