Landon Davis arrives at Illinois with a calling card that jumps off the page: he changes games on defense.
The 6-foot-9, 220-pound freshman put together a big senior year at Waukee (Iowa) Northwest, producing 13.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 59.5% from the field, 28.3% from three and 68.2% from the free-throw line. 247Sports had him at No. 210 in the Class of 2026, but his impact at Northwest told a bigger story than that ranking.
He wasn’t the lone standout on that roster, either. Davis played alongside four-star wing and Nebraska signee Colin Rice, the Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year, and still earned All-State First Team honors from the Iowa Basketball Coaches Association. Northwest went 20-5 before falling to Johnston High School in the Class 4A state quarterfinals.
His role shifted last summer on the AAU circuit, where he moved from center to power forward while playing next to five-star Houston signee Arafan Diane for Iowa United in Adidas 3SSB play. In that setting, Davis posted 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 blocks per game.
What stands out most, though, is how much he can affect the floor without needing the ball. Davis has been a disruptive defensive force throughout high school, using mobility, solid athleticism and timing to erase shots at the rim. He also showed the kind of perimeter movement that lets him cover space and still recover inside, where his shot-blocking can take over stretches of a game.
That rim protection has been his signature. Davis finished last season with the fourth-most blocked shots in Iowa, after leading the state in blocks in each of the previous two seasons.
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Bielema has made clear that the bigger aim is sustained success, not just a strong start to the fall. But the usual camp concerns are in play too, with depth and injury risk looming over every practice rep, especially for a team trying to build cohesion amid so much turnover. How quickly Illinois can absorb the changes and turn them into something dependable will shape the first few weeks, and likely reveal how sturdy the foundation really is. [Read more 🡒]
Berry Wallace Might Be The Closer Illinois Has Been Missing
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What makes Wallace especially intriguing is how well her game translated when the pressure rose. Peter Newmann of CBB Analytics singled her out as one of the nations most reliable late-game finishers last season, a useful trait for a team that returns several key players and adds another five-star piece. If Illinois is going to turn its talent into something bigger, having a player who can settle things down in tight moments could wind up mattering just as much as the headline names. [Read more 🡒]