3 Things We Learned From Illinois Basketball's Exhibition Games

We said it before Illinois basketball's exhibition games and in the midst of them, and we’ll say it again afterwards: They mean nothing – the wins, losses and scores, that is. But each play, key stretch, half and overall game offers glimpses that can teach us about the Illini.

Now that the program's three preseason games are in the books, here's what we saw:

3 takeaways from Illinois basketball's three exhibition games

Mar 26, 2026; Houston, TX, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood reacts in the second half during a Sweet Sixteen game of the South Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Quentin Coleman is even better than advertised

Quentin Coleman has yet to log an official minute as a college basketball player, but he is already a superstar. He will almost certainly be Illinois’ second-most valuable player behind preseason All-American David Mirkovic.

Let’s check off the boxes: Coleman can shoot the cover off the ball – on the catch or off the bounce. He is an excellent downhill navigator and has elite body control and touch. Good ball-handler and space assessor. He’s great at drawing multiple bodies and finding open teammates. In general, he’s a very sound decision maker.

CLEAN.

Quentin drains one from deep.

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— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) October 29, 2026

Put plainly: From a talent perspective, Coleman is absolutely off the charts. But then there's his motor. Are you kidding? Up 40 in Wednesday's home exhibition game against UIC, Coleman was chasing down rebounds like each was the final possession of the national title game.

Coleman, at 6-foot-4, led the Illini in rebounds in two of their three exhibition games. He was second on the team against the Flames, with seven boards. His defense, as a result of his top-shelf physical traits and all-out effort, is equally effective.

The Illini are unfathomably deep

Nov 22, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini center Jason Jakstys (31) and Blake Fagbemi (8) pressure Long Island University Sharks forward Xinyi Li (34) during the second half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Sometimes, it isn’t easy to read between the lines in the offseason. Sure, Brad Underwood was raving about the depth of this Illinois team – specifically his freshman group – but that’s what coaches do.

Through three exhibition games, it’s clear that he wasn’t exaggerating. Coleman is Coleman. Freshman Ethan Brown is a starter. Lincoln Williams is a stud on-ball defender. Zavier Zens is a mistake-free defender (related note: his transition contests at the rim have been superb), a high-IQ cutter and a deadeye shooter. Zens can give Illinois minutes from Day 1.

Pressure off the inbound gets the turnover!

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— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) October 29, 2026

Stefan Vaaks has been spectacular. Both Lucas Morillo and Landon Davis have shown flashes. Jason Jakstys has been solid. And this has all been without Mirkovic, not to mention Andrej Stojakovic and Zvonimir Ivisic against UIC.

Illinois has its five veterans – Jake Davis, Mirkovic, Stojakovic and Zvonimir and Tomislav Ivisic – along with Vaaks and the freshman duo of Coleman and Brown. That’s eight. As the season wears on, another Illini reserve will almost inevitably emerge. If he wants to, Underwood could probably go nine deep next March.

Stefan Vaaks won’t be in the starting lineup

After a trio of exhibition games, it’s already a mostly overlooked development that Vaaks hasn't been in the starting lineup. But let’s walk it back to the offseason.

Vaaks, the No. 15 player in the transfer portal (per 247Sports), came to Illinois pegged as the guy to fill Keaton Wagler’s shoes (a duty presumably set to be shared with Coleman). We knew Coleman would be good, but he hadn’t yet played a Division I game (and technically still hasn’t).

The only thing we were sure of: Vaaks was the reigning three-point champ – by quantity and quality – in the Big East. He was a 15.8-points-per-game scorer at the high-major level (with 3.2 assists per game, for good measure). We didn’t have a lot of guarantees about Illinois’ backcourt, save for the fact that Vaaks was going to start. We were dead wrong.

Drive it in and kick it out.

Stef finds Lucas behind the arc!

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— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) October 29, 2026

And it's not like Vaaks hasn't been absolutely brilliant in three exhibition outings. He’s dropping threes. He’s diming up teammates. He’s getting to the rack. He’s even playing great defense and rebounding. Nevertheless, he appears poised to come off the bench this season.

Interrupter.

Vaaks breaks up UIC's pass and gets the bucket on the other side.

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— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) October 29, 2026

Between freshman Ethan Brown’s play and Vaaks’ apparent preference for playing in a reserve role, it makes sense to an extent. But the whole thing is still sort of a “huh?” scenario. We'll see if it holds up through the season.

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