Glimpses from the Closed Scrimmage: Five Key Plays from Illinois vs. Butler
A detailed breakdown of plays from Illinois’ secret preseason scrimmage.
While Illinois’ secret scrimmage today against Butler was a closed, behind-the-scenes affair, the team gave fans a small taste of the action by tweeting out some highlights. Though we didn’t get to see the full game, these glimpses offer valuable insight into how the team is shaping up ahead of the season. In this breakdown, we’ll analyze each of these five plays to understand what they reveal about Illinois this year.
Play 1
Play Breakdown:
Morez Johnson Jr. has the ball on the perimeter and hands it off to a driving Kasparas Jakucionis. The defender quickly recovers and gets into solid defensive position. Jakucionis lowers his shoulder, initiating contact to create enough space to get his shot off. This move, I’ll refer to it as a “Celtics push-off,” is a common tactic in the NBA. While many players use it, I feel like the Celtics use it the most. The legal push off move where a player can lower his shoulder and extending from shoulder to elbow out is legal, as long as you keep your forearm straight. The only illegal move that gets called being extending the forearm.
Analysis:
Jakucionis displayed impressive physicality on this drive, showing that he’s not just a finesse, skill-based player but also capable of using his body to create space. KJ has so much scoring versatility.
Play 2
Play Breakdown:
Kasparas Jakucionis has the ball near midcourt while Ty Rodgers hustles down the floor in transition, filling the lane and getting behind the defense. Jakucionis delivers a perfect pass, just over the outstretched hands of the defender, leading Rodgers right into a transition dunk.
Analysis:
This connection between Jakucionis and Rodgers will be one to watch this season. Last season, Ty Rodgers played point guard and had ball handling duties. Perhaps only Coleman Hawkins was utilizing hit ahead passes to a high level. Illinois’ transition game last season mostly involved grabbing a rebound, quickly getting the ball to Terrence Shannon Jr., and letting him bulldoze through the defense. This year, with Rodgers no longer being responsible for ball-handling, he has more freedom to hustle and run the floor. Jakucionis, an elite passer, could set up a lot of transition dunks for Rodgers like this one. We could see this dynamic play out frequently throughout the season and could be another way for Ty Rodgers to provide some offense.
Play 3
Play Breakdown:
We see a Kasparas Jakucionis-Ben Humrichous pick-and-pop action. Humrichous slips the screen and pops out to the top of the key. Jakucionis draws both defenders and delivers an excellent overhead pass to the open Humrichous. The dropping big is unable to recover, and Will Riley’s defender helps on Humrichous, who quickly swings the ball to Riley. With Kylan Boswell’s defender now helping and closing out on Riley, Boswell cuts to the basket, and Riley delivers the pass. Despite Butler’s solid defensive rotations, they fall for Boswell’s pump fake, leading to an easy layup.
Analysis:
This sequence showcases what Illinois’ offense will likely look like next season. Jakucionis, acting as the quarterback, draws two defenders to create an advantage. Illinois uses its skill and shooting to maintain that advantage via ball movement through the swarming help defense until someone can finish the play.
Advantage Creation → Ball Movement → Play Finishing
Play 4
Play Breakdown:
Kasparas Jakucionis, recognizing the overloaded defense, swings the ball to Tre White. White fakes left, freezing the recovering defender just long enough to drive right and create an advantage. This forces the help defender to rotate, leaving Carey Booth wide open for a clean look from the corner for a three. Swish!
Analysis:
Last season, Illinois frequently used Marcus Domask’s “booty ball” to get middle. Domask would post up, back down his defender, and use patience in the post to draw a double team, often creating open three-point opportunities for teammates. However, this season, we’ll likely see fewer of those post-ups and more actions and drives to get into the middle to collapse the defense.
Jakucionis is such a dynamic creator that even the threat of his presence can generate offense. When defenses shade over to him, he can swing the ball to the weak side, where a teammate can attack a recovering defender off the dribble. This concept was something the Chicago Bulls used effectively with Ayo Dosunmu last season. The Bulls would start an action, and if the defense overloaded the strong side, Dosunmu would be waiting to attack the weak side.
If Jakucionis isn’t such a threat, the defense never overloads, and Tre White’s defender would have been in a better position, potentially preventing this play from developing.
Play 5
Play Breakdown:
We don’t clearly see how the advantage is initially created, but Ben Humrichous swings the ball to Kylan Boswell, who then passes it to Jake Davis in the corner. Davis misses the three-pointer, but Will Riley crashes the boards, getting to the ball first and poking it out. Davis recovers his own miss and finishes with a layup.
Analysis:
While there has been a lot of nice ball movement so far, it’s especially encouraging to see Will Riley hustling for the offensive rebound and keeping the play alive. For a five-star recruit to come in and embrace the dirty work—battling for boards and making the hustle plays—is exactly the kind of impact that contributes to winning. Riley’s effort here exemplifies what it takes to succeed at the college level.
Conclusion
The scrimmage against Butler provided a glimpse of what we can expect from Illinois this season: dynamic ball movement, versatile scoring options, and a team-wide commitment to hustle and effort. Kasparas Jakucionis is proving to be a true floor general, orchestrating the offense and creating opportunities for his teammates. Meanwhile, players like Ty Rodgers, Tre White, and Will Riley are embracing their roles, whether it’s running the floor, making smart decisions off the dribble, or battling for rebounds. With this balance of skill, physicality, and unselfish play, Illinois looks poised to play a fast-paced and cohesive brand of basketball that could lead to a successful season. The early chemistry and selflessness on display are promising signs for what’s to come.