5 big questions for the Illinois basketball team vs. Ole Miss

Don't look now, but the Illinois basketball team will take the court on Sunday.

The last time we saw the Illini uniform, we were in the Elite 8 and hoping to reach the national championship. In the second half, those hopes were dashed against the eventual back-to-back national champion UConn Huskies.

However, don't expect this team to come back in 2024-25. Only two scholarship players returned from that run, but Illinois managed to acquire some incredible talent.

Illini fans can also see this talent on Sunday. We take on Ole Miss in an exhibition game at 11 a.m. CT on the SEC Network.

This is an opportunity to see the new talent and find out what Brad Underwood thinks for the upcoming season. I also have some big questions about this exhibition game.

Illinois Basketball had a pretty impressive 2024 recruiting class. We recruited a level of talent that I haven't seen recruited at Illinois in a long time.

One of those top recruits was Will Riley. At 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, Riley was a five-star recruit who was ranked as the No. 20 player in the 2024 class.

However, that is a big bill to live up to. In addition to the big expectations from recruiting sites, there are also 2025 NBA mock drafts in which Riley will be selected. I saw he was projected as a top 20 pick in next year's draft.

It's just an exhibition game and it's his first action with the orange and blue, but I'll be keeping an eye on Riley and what he does against Ole Miss. He has a lot to offer, so I'll see how quickly he makes an impact on the program.

I also want to see if Riley will be more of an offensive juggernaut or if he will be a long-winded defender who will cause havoc in the Illini defense. There's a chance he's both. This kid has tons of talent and it will be interesting to see how quickly he lives up to his expectations.