Reactions to Illinois Basketball's Latest Practice Highlights as Season Nears

Illinois basketball’s social media team on Sunday offered “a little taste of what’s to come," and it’s safe to say that if it was the appetizer, Illini Nation will be eagerly awaiting the full-course meal. Below, we offer our take on some of the notable clips from the program's latest highlight reel:

Takeaways from Illinois basketball's October highlights

Stefan Vaaks knocks down jumper on Andrej Stojakovic

Stefan Vaaks can create space with the best of them, and there’s no questioning his ability to cash out. He’ll be able to create buckets virtually out of this air this season, though preferably the Illini won’t need him to take shots like that above too often.

Jason Jakstys with a putback slam

Jason Jakstys showed he will stay active on the boards and has a lot of springiness. If he does find himself in the rotation, expect Jakstys to be one of the more effective offensive rebounders in the Big Ten in his minutes.

Quentin Coleman loses Ethan Brown and hits the jumper

Freshman-on-freshman violence. Quentin Coleman can score in so many ways. Another thought: A surprising number of off-the-bounce midrange jumpers were taken during these highlights (based on the small sample size shown to us).

Will Illini coach Brad Underwood and his staff be more open to midrange shots this season? That seems unlikely for such an analytics-driven program.

Lincoln Williams doing Lincoln Williams things

Lincoln Williams caught Zvonimir Ivisic again (and also Landon Davis). First of all, Williams can absolutely fly. But also, why was there zero reaction from his teammates (especially compared to his summer poster of Z)? Our guess: The uber-athletic Williams' flights of fancy are fast becoming just another day at the office.

Andrej Stojakovic catch-and-shoot triple

It’s just practice, so we can’t put too much stock into it, but Andrej Stojakovic's jumper does look a little smoother.

Lucas Morillo top of the key three-pointer

Lucas Morillo is looking comfortable as a shooter. He was primarily a slasher during his high school days. If he can blend it all together, he’ll be battling for legit minutes as a freshman. 

Stefan Vaaks getting to the cup

Vaaks is not just a shooter. He isn’t an ultra-twitchy athlete, but he has enough craftiness and size to be effective getting downhill.

Blake Fagbemi and Ethan Brown with transition dimes

Love the back-to-back hit-aheads. It’s common sense, but it can also be easy to forget: The ball always moves faster through the air than on the dribble. And Tomislav Ivisic beating everyone down the floor? If Illinois picks up the tempo in 2026-27, it’ll be interesting to see how a supposedly more mobile Ivisic fares as a rim runner.

Ethan Brown with a sweet runner

Ethan Brown drove a closeout and finished with an impressive floater. We know he can shoot. Even just being a moderate threat going to the basket – which Brown certainly seems to be – could open the door to early playing time in the backcourt.