Will Riley was once a major Kentucky target, now he stands in the way of a Sweet 16

Last May, I had a first-hand view of what is still the most impressive individual scoring performance I’ve ever seen from a high school player. That player was Illinois freshman Will Riley, who at the time was a serious Kentucky target. New head coach Mark Pope was still looking to fill out his debut roster, and Riley was the primary high school target.

Riley poured in 42 points on an insane 15-16 shooting during a random AAU game in Indianapolis. He didn’t miss a three-pointer (5-5) or free throw (7-7) while dishing out five assists just for good measure. He was pulling up from just inside halfcourt and hitting nothing but net. This was before he officially reclassed to 2024, which was a poorly kept secret at the time. If his five-star rating needed any justification at the time, that was the game to show any remaining non-believers.

“I was just feeling myself,” Riley said at the time. “My team helped me get involved with it. It just felt like I couldn’t miss so I kept shooting.”

Pope and assistant coach Jason Hart were in Indy that weekend to watch Riley. He officially visited UK in June and the Wildcats eventually made his group of finalists. But Pope couldn’t offer him a significant role, so Riley opted for somewhere he could find it. Illinois, led by assistant Orlando Antigua (who helped recruit Riley to UK under the former staff), ultimately landed the 6-foot-8 wing and he’s now a projected first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

“Will was a guy we saw late and he classed up, but he’s got a special gift,” Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said Saturday. “He’s a very gifted offensive player, and we felt like it was a great opportunity for him with our strength and conditioning program and Adam Fletcher and the money we spend in nutrition for him to really develop. And they saw the same thing.”

Fast forward to today and Riley stands in the way of Pope reaching his first Sweet 16 as a head coach. Riley and Illinois will take on Kentucky in the Round of 32 at 5:15 p.m. ET on CBS.

“He’s a great coach, very intelligent man,” Riley said of Pope on Saturday. “I respect what they do over there and I’m just excited to compete against them.”

It hasn’t been the most efficient campaign for Riley in his first and likely only college season, but he still gets buckets better than most. He’s second on the team in scoring at 12.8 points per game while shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from deep. That doesn’t tell the whole story though.

Lately, Riley has been playing at an even higher level. Over his last 16 games, he’s averaging 16.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 31.6 minutes per outing on shooting splits of 49.4/36.1/76.6. He’s started the last six games for Illinois. Riley has four straight outings with at least 15 points, including a 22-point performance in Friday’s opening-round win over Xavier.

Will Riley is really fun to watch. Such a smooth, fluid playmaker.

Here you see how the threat of #13 Ivisic on the pop leads to a layup for Illinois. You have to recover to the pop, but also have to stop the ball.

That is why switching the ballscreens is probably best! pic.twitter.com/NtvH81rLVs

— Brandon Ramsey (@BRamseyKSR) March 23, 2025

WILL RILEY BEATS THE SHOT CLOCK FROM THE LOGO 🥶 pic.twitter.com/jjBCVhYf00

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 22, 2025

Riley will be a tough matchup for Kentucky. Will Koby Brea draw the initial assignment? It could be a committee effort to keep him from going off. If the ‘Cats can slow Riley down, the odds of moving onto the Sweet 16 skyrocket. It will be much easier said than done though.