Illinois' Will Riley Selected by Washington Wizards in 2025 NBA Draft

Riley was a big piece for last season's 22-13 Illinois squad, which didn't quite live up to the highest expectations but in retrospect was able to push past quite a bit of adversity and bad juju to win 20-plus games and crack the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. He averaged 12.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 threes (32.6 percent), surging late in the season to earn the 2024-25 Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year award.

After an explosive 31-point college debut against Eastern Illinois, Riley saw his production level off and then dip significantly as he struggled to adjust to more physical defenders and opponents who had eventually enough to build a college scouting report on him.

But Riley made his own adjustments as the season wore on, and averaged 15.9 points (on 48.1 percent field goal shooting) while boosting his playmaking contributions (2.9 assists) over Illinois' final 15 games. His 22 points against Xavier in the first round of the NCAA Tournament were critical in boosting the Illini into the second round.

Questions remain about his athleticism, strength and ability to defend against NBA competition, but he has excellent length and elitre shooting range, which give him a chance to carve out a long – and possibly very productive – professional career.

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