What We Learned From Landon Davis' and Lucas Morillo's Illinois Summer Highlights

The Illinois basketball yearly “Newcomer First Look” highlight reels continue to roll in. Footage for the latest pair: freshmen Landon Davis and Lucas Morillo. As always, the usual caveats apply: 1) These are carefully plucked highlights, so we're getting a limited picture, and 2) it's only mid-August, meaning there is always ample time for improvement in every facet of players’ games.

Key takeaways from Landon Davis’ summer highlights

The knee-jerk reaction: Davis has a surprisingly smooth jumper. The energy transfer is ideal, he has a high release point and, importantly, he doesn’t appear shy about getting them up. A young guy at this stage of his career with that kind of confidence usually is a sign of good things to come.

Inside the arc, Davis has instinctual footwork and takes advantage of his length, but he doesn’t seem too keen on putting the rock on the floor unless he has to – which may be a blessing in disguise for this current Illini team.

🟠 Newcomer First Look 🔵
Landon Davis
No. 27
Waukee, Iowa pic.twitter.com/W0uJQwAeQn
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) August 14, 2026

Davis can stretch defenses as a spot-up shooter or play in the dunker spot (he is fairly athletic and has coveted positional size at 6-foot-9). He seems to be a heady cutter and has all the makings of an excellent rim runner. He should be able to positively impact Illinois’ offense without the ball, which brings a lot of value to this club.

We didn’t see any head-turning rejections, so we didn’t exactly glean any new knowledge of Davis' rim-protection ability. But based on his high school production as a defender, not to mention his physical traits, Davis should be able to hold his own on that end.

And if he turns out to be a plus defender while shooting efficiently from three-point range on offense, then he may play himself into back-end rotation minutes early – and perhaps much more than that if David Mirkovic misses any time early in the season.

Key takeaways from Lucas Morillo’s summer highlights

The good news: Nearly every single clip play from highlights footage shows Morillo connecting on threes. In fact, only one play from live scrimmage action showed Morillo not scoring from beyond the arc. He’s shooting the ball confidently and his mechanics look fluid. And he isn’t just pulling on wide-open triples. He is seemingly more than willing to let it fly in the face of a contest.

With shooting being Morillo’s primary swing skill – especially in his freshman season – these clips could (almost) not be more encouraging. But it does raise a question: Why are all the clips of Morillo, known as a slasher and secondary playmaker, firing spot-up jumpers?

Morillo isn’t an otherworldly athlete, but he certainly isn’t below average. He doesn’t have a Mariana Trench-deep bag of moves, but he is crafty. He is by no means an immovable force, but he does have a sturdy frame for a freshman.

🟠 Newcomer First Look 🔵
Lucas Morillo
No. 23
Mount Vernon, N.Y. pic.twitter.com/VT0XEq3kxx
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) August 20, 2026

It’s his unique blend of all the above that allowed him to be a dominant downhill threat in high school. But does that combination not get it done against high-major athletes?

Drivers who rely on the “little-bit-of-everything” rim-attacking skill set to get buckets in high school often struggle initially against stronger, more athletic players at the Big Ten level. (Remember: That was a concern for Keaton Wagler, one of the few that didn’t go unfounded throughout the year, as he did have difficulty scoring at the rim on occasion.)

Then again, for Morillo, it could simply suggest an adjustment period as he seeks to get back to 100 percent and find his footing in Champaign. Back in late June, Morillo was playing only “dummy offense” as he recovered from a back tweak. Perhaps he just needs some more time to put it all together.

And if Morillo does manage to translate his downhill ability and passing while being (at least) a solid three-point threat, then he’ll almost surely find himself in the rotation this year.

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