Does Jake Davis Have a Chance to Start For Illinois in 2026-27?

After Jake Davis averaged 9.0 points and 4.5 rebounds for a sub-.500 Mercer squad as a freshman in 2023-24, he made the leap to high-major hoops, landing at Illinois. He was afforded that opportunity for, essentiaklly, one reason: He shot the cover off the ball in his first year of college hoops.

A 6-foot-6 wing, Davis connected on 1.8 threes per game at a 38.7 percent clip at Mercer. And, historically, nothing has translated across levels as seamlessly as three-point shooting.

But Davis, who isn’t a high-flying athlete or dynamic off-the-bounce threat, likely knew what his future entailed: spare minutes for the Illini in the case of foul trouble or injuries. Still, the chance to play for a marquee Big Ten program and chase a national championship evidently appealed enough to convince Davis to take his talents to Champaign.

Jake Davis' overlooked rise at Illinois

And then in 2024-25, when the injury bug bit the Illini – and it did quite a few times, actually – Davis was thrust into the rotation. His efficiency from deep (34.4 percent) was solid – especially for a player on limited volume – but Davis was arguably a liability as a defender and on the glass, despite his best efforts. He wound up playing just 9.4 minutes per game.

By 2025-26, though, Davis had incrementally elevated his game across the board. With more shot attempts (3.6 triples per game), his efficiency climbed to a sparkling 40.6 percent from deep. Stunningly, he also turned into a plus defender and added value on the boards. On certain occasions, Davis even acted as a facilitator for teammates (he dropped a few memorable dimes in the Michigan State contest).

And when Kylan Boswell went down because of an injury, who answered the bell for the Illini? You guessed it. Davis entered the starting lineup when Illinois visited Mackey Arena and took down Purdue – and he stayed there as the Illini then exacted revenge on Nebraska in Lincoln just a week later.

Boswell's healthy return timed up with an ankle injury suffered by Andrej Stojakovic, who was forced out of the lineup. Davis again rose to the occasion. But by the time Stojakovic was ready to come back, and especially after he did so in a very loud manner (scored 22 points in just 18 minutes against USC), the expectation was Davis would return to a reserve role.

Fast-forward a month and a half later, though, and Illinois was riding a four-game win streak into a Final Four matchup with UConn – and Davis was still doing his thing in the lineup.

So heading into 2026-27, and given the success the Illini had with Davis as a member of their first five, why would Brad Underwood and his staff change a thing?

Will Jake Davis start again for Illinois in 2026-27?

To answer that question, we’ll pose another one: Who would Davis start over? It won’t be David Mirkovic or Tomislav Ivisic, both essential rebounders, frontcourt defenders and rim protectors. And it won’t be Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks, who projects into a ball-dominant role quite dissimilar to that of Davis. All early signs also point to incoming five-star guard Quentin Coleman earning a starting role by next fall, as well.

That leaves just one player: Stojakovic. But it would be a shock to see Stojakovic, a likely preseason All-Big Ten honoree who turned down the NBA at the last minute this spring, return to Champaign without a starting spot awaiting him.

Despite his admirable willingness to embrace a reserve role, Stojakovic likely wouldn’t be running it back with the Illini unless he knew he was coming back as a starter. (A reserve role would not bode well for his 2027 NBA Draft hopes.)

So that’s that, right? Davis will be a valuable piece of the puzzle – but one who comes off the bench. On second thought, though, the presumed rationale behind Illinois starting Davis – there is only one basketball to go around – still applies.

Jake Davis for three 💪 @IlliniMBB

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/pUmxIVvx8O
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 4, 2026

Keaton Wagler and Kylan Boswell may be out of the fold, but Vaaks and Coleman will pick up right where those two left off in terms of on-ball usage. Mirkovic figures to have the ball in his hands even more this coming season, and Ivisic is also at his best with the ball. And Stojakovic, out of everyone, needs the ball to create offensive value. How about a starting perimeter trio of Vaaks, Stojakovic and Davis? Eh, no. Not enough ball-handling.

That leaves us, by process of elimination, with the aforementioned quintet of Coleman, Vaaks, Stojakovic, Ivisic and Mirkovic. The one-ball problem may rear its ugly head at times, but Underwood seemingly has little other choice. And given that the Illini successfully leapt that hurdle a season ago, there are undoubtedly more concerning problems to have.

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