How Illinois Basketball Will Respond to Losing Jake Davis to Shoulder Surgery

Illinois basketball’s 2026-27 opener was all sunshine and rainbows, save for one very dark storm cloud: the first-half departure of wing Jake Davis. It was initially reported that he had suffered a shoulder injury, and all outward signs pointed in the wrong direction. On Wednesday, those worries were realized.

Illinois basketball wing Jake Davis undergoes shoulder surgery

“Jake had surgery this morning, first thing,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said in a Wednesday press conference. “He’s got no timeline – indefinite at this point. Separation of the shoulder. And just a tough hombre. It’s a loss. That’s tough for me to swallow. Just puts a pit in my stomach, because he’s a guy that works harder than anybody every day.

“He’s got himself into elite shape, and unfortunately it’s part of the sport. So next man up. We’ve got an army of guys that we’ll have to fill into that role. We’ll wish him the best, and we’ll put a different hat on him when he comes back. Coaching and having to lead from a little different perspective than being on the court.”

It’s a disheartening and sneaky-high-impact loss for an Illini team that seemingly has infinite depth in terms of on-court production but has no veteran who can match Davis’ combination of leadership and experience in the program. As Underwood said, Davis will be able to lead from the sideline, but that goes only so far.

Brad Underwood on who will replace Jake Davis

“No replacement,” Underwood said. “Everybody. Guy that works the hardest. We put up every day on a board in the weight room. The day before, who spends the most energy, who runs the most? It’s always Jake.

“And I want somebody to replace that. I want to find out who’s going to step into that role. … He’s never been a huge scorer, but he’s been just an unbelievable offensive player because he’s so selfless and he’s a great ball mover. So it won’t be one person. It will be everybody.”

Given what could be gleaned from Illinois' three exhibition games and one regular-season outing, Underwood should be taken at his word: filling in the void Davis leaves behind will require a group effort. With this up-tempo Illini scheme, Underwood’s usual tight rotation may finally be out of fashion. Even looking past Andrej Stojakovic, Illinois is loaded on the wing – hello, Zavier Zens, Lucas Morillo and Lincoln Williams – and Underwood seems truly comfortable turning to any of them.

Will Jake Davis return to Illinois this season?

“I’m preparing for him to be back and I’m preparing for him not to be back,” Underwood said. “That’s a really bad answer to your question, [but] I have no idea. He’s still in surgery. So I think that he’s a tough hombre and he’ll do everything within his power to try to come back.

“And then we just have to wait and see how everything responds as he moves forward. So he’s got a lot of recovery in front of him, and we’ll assess how that plays out.”

According to the Cleveland Clinic website (side note: This page has quickly become all too familiar in our browser), the timeline can be anywhere from 3-6 months for recovery from a separated shoulder that requires surgery. It’s safe to say the Illini will be without Davis for an extended period.

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