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Illinois guard Da’Monte Williams announces plans for 2021-22 season

Spenser Davis

By Spenser Davis

Published:

Illinois guard Da’Monte Williams is coming back for a fifth season of eligibility.

He announced that news on Wednesday evening on his Instagram account.

The NCAA granted a waiver for all players this season due to the pandemic, allowing him to return to Illinois for another campaign.

Williams is joined by fellow senior Trent Frazier, who announced the same decision next week.

The pair were senior leaders on last year’s Illinois team that won the Big Ten Tournament and earned a No. 1 seed. While the Illini are losing Ayo Dosunmu, Kofi Cockburn and Adam Miller, it won’t be a total rebuild because of Williams and Frazier.

Last season, Williams averaged 5.5 points and 5.3 rebounds a game. He took a secondary role in the offense, but he was especially effective from 3-point range — Williams hit 54. 7 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.

In addition to bringing back experience at guard, Illinois will have some youth at the forward spots. Brad Underwood signed two 4-star forwards in the 2021 recruiting class, and has a commitment from Florida transfer forward Omar Payne. The Illini’s 2021 recruiting class is ranked No. 4 in the Big Ten, according to 247Sports Composite rankings.

Spenser Davis

Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.