Jake Davis Scouting Report: Illinois Basketball 2025-2026

Jake Davis statistics and 2024-25 season

A sniper from deep, Davis played sparingly as a sophomore at Illinois, but he typically made an impact in his minutes. He appeared in 32 games last season, averaging just 9.4 minutes per outing, yet managed to knock down 22 triples on a relatively high clip (34.4 percent) – especially considering he was often getting up shots on cold legs.

Scouting Jake Davis

One of the purest shooters in the Big Ten, Davis is a far more dangerous outside threat than his percentage from deep last season reflects. He’s a knockdown spot-up shooter with a quick release, along with solid size – all of which allows him to get off his jumper in practically every catch-and-shoot situation.

Perhaps he’ll grow into a player who can also make an impact elsewhere on offense, but for now, he specializes as a shooter for the Illini. Defensively, he’s a 'tweener: Davis isn’t quick or nimble enough to consistently stay in front of guards, but he also lacks ideal length and muscle to check big wings and forwards. That said, Davis is by no means a liability on defense. He plays with maximum effort on that end, and can often close any size or athleticism gap just enough with his effort and positioning.

Jake Davis highlights

What they're saying about Davis

“You’d be hard-pressed to find a better shooter in the Big Ten than him,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said of Davis. “Jake is an elite shooter, I can see him having a tremendous role as we create space. He’s much better. He’s leaner. He’s better putting the ball on the deck than he was a year ago. He’s more competitive defensively than he was a year ago. But he does everything that I ask. He’s going to play a lot.”

What we expect from Davis

The Illini have guards and forwards galore. Arguably, though, the only true wings on the roster are Andrej Stojakovic and Davis. Freshman Keaton Wagler – who has drawn plenty of attention over the offseason – was projected as a small forward, but he appears to be a better fit for Illinois as a backup lead guard or shooting guard.

That means the door is wide open for Davis to earn an uptick in minutes. And if the man controlling those minutes says he’s going to play, that obviously bodes well for Davis. In any case, though, he figures to come off the bench and likely won’t see more than 15-20 minutes a game. Even if he has made gains as a driver and defender, Davis is too valuable as a shooter and court-stretcher as a spot-up shooter to spend a great deal of time anywhere but spotting up on the arc, hunting for kick-outs from driving guards and posting big men.