Illinois Basketball: 3 takeaways from Skyy Clark taking a leave of absence

1. Jayden Epps now runs the show in the backcourt

From a statistical standpoint, the absence of Clark isn’t devastating. Although he plays “point guard”, Clark was actually third on the team in assists, behind Shannon (3.2 apg) and Coleman Hawkins (3.6 apg). That’s been part of the problem, as Illinois’ offense has been all over the place, especially when Shannon doesn’t bail them out with a 30-point game.

The player that will benefit from Clark’s departure is another freshman, Jayden Epps. The former top-100 recruit out of high school has been the team’s 6th Man off the bench before starting the last game versus Northwestern. He’s fourth on the team with 9.4 ppg, while making 35% of his three-point attempts.

Out of 14 games, Epps has scored in double figures in nine of them, including a season-high 21 points early on against Monmouth. He’s not necessarily a “true point” guard in that he’s more of a scorer than a pure passer but it should help Illinois be more consistent as an offense. And if Shannon remains the defacto “point” and Hawkins still facilitates anyways, it shouldn’t be a detriment to have Epps as the new starter.

Two other freshmen that should get more minutes are Sencire Harris and Ty Rodgers, who have shown flashes in limited minutes. They’re the type of glue guys that could have a bigger impact going forward. Ultimately, it’ll come down to the veterans to get this team back on track.

Something else to note, sharpshooter Luke Goode could return within a month after getting injured in an exhibition game. He actually started over Clark in that game so getting him and his shooting back would be huge.