The Skyy was the Limit: How a Quitter Turned a Season Around
Wednesday, January 4th. 73-60. Illinois’ loss to Northwestern marked their 5th, and now the Illini were sitting at just 9-5. Sure, their wins against Texas and UCLA were very impressive, an 0-3 conference record including a double digit loss to Penn State at home and trouncing by Missouri was leaving fans disheartened. In fact, locker room issues seemed to be plaguing the Illini as well. The biggest culmination was a passionate postgame interview after the Penn State loss, in which Head Coach Brad Underwood aired out his grievances over his team’s performance. All in all, things seemed to be going downhill quickly for the Illini, and it only continued to get worse when freshman Skyy Clark announced he was stepping away from the team.
Since the announcement, the Illini are 6-1, with only a loss to a revitalized Indiana program. In fact, Illinois recently notched an impressive double digit victory against a Wisconsin team that just got their star player back from injury. Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer scored a season high 26 points in the win, and the Illini are back to contending for the 2nd spot in the Big Ten behind Purdue. It seems like the significant change to this team was Skyy Clark’s departure, and further investigation provides weight to that claim!
In their loss to Missouri, Skyy Clark had what was likely the worst game of his career. The freshman started the game, but missed 4 shots, fouled twice, and was benched for most of the latter half of the game. Clark, after this performance, mysteriously did not play in the Bethune-Cookman game due to a left shoulder injury. This strange incident was further compounded by Underwood’s statements that Clark “could have played” but was held out as a cautionary measure. When Clark returned, he played from the bench in the Northwestern loss, and has not been seen since. Clark stepped away due to an unstated “personal reason,” and this is a totally valid reason to step away from the sport. With that being said, there is no doubt that Clark was responsible for at least some of the friction the Illini were experiencing. The very next game, Coleman Hawkins and Terrence Shannon Jr both scored north of 20 points. It seemed like Illinois had found their footing playing a tough opponent just a game after an ugly loss to Northwestern.
However, the game against Michigan State proved that Clark’s sabbatical served to improve Illinois in the long run. 5 Illinois players - Shannon, Hawkins, Mayer, Dain Dainja, and RJ Melendez - all had an offensive rating above 100 in the game against Michigan State. Rather than Clark being a bad basketball player - which he is not by any means - his absence seemed to instill a sense of personal responsibility in the remaining players. Since Clark left, Underwood has changed his tune in press conferences. He seems a lot more pleased with the effort his players are putting in, and he has gained confidence in himself as well.
The Illini do not have an easy schedule. They have to go into Purdue - the best team in the country - in a game that likely ends as a loss. The #22 KenPom team also has away games at Indiana and Penn State - both teams they lost at home to - and Iowa, Northwestern, and Rutgers are all other teams that can knock off Illinois. The 9-5 Illinois team on January 4th may not have even been secure in their tournament hopes. However, one thing is clear: the Illini have turned over a new life, and the games that once seemed daunting now seem winnable. Be on the lookout for the Illini in February and March, cause with this recent development, the sky is truly the limit for Champaign’s team!
