2024–25 UIC Flames men's basketball team

2024–25 UIC Flames men's basketball
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record4–3 (0–0 MVC)
Head coach
Associate head coachKevin Devitt (1st season)
Assistant coaches
  • Johnny Hill (1st season)
  • David Berkun (1st season)
  • Ryan Davis (1st season)
  • Jaime Smith (1st season)
Home arenaCredit Union 1 Arena
Seasons
← 2023–24
2025–26 →
2024–25 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Bradley 1 – 0   1.000 8 – 1   .889
Murray State 1 – 0   1.000 5 – 2   .714
Drake 0 – 0   – 7 – 0   1.000
Belmont 0 – 0   – 6 – 2   .750
Missouri State 0 – 0   – 5 – 3   .625
UIC 0 – 0   – 5 – 3   .625
Illinois State 0 – 0   – 4 – 3   .571
Valparaiso 0 – 0   – 4 – 3   .571
Indiana State 0 – 0   – 5 – 4   .556
Northern Iowa 0 – 0   – 3 – 4   .429
Evansville 0 – 1   .000 3 – 5   .375
Southern Illinois 0 – 1   .000 3 – 6   .333
† 2025 MVC tournament winner
As of December 3, 2024

The 2024–25 UIC Flames men's basketball team represents the University of Illinois Chicago during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flames, led by first-year head coach Rob Ehsan, play their home games at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Previous season

The Flames finished the 2023–24 season 12–21, 4–16 in MVC play to finish in eleventh place.[1] They defeated Southern Illinois,[2] before losing to Bradley in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament.[3]

On March 10, 2024, the school announced the firing of head coach Luke Yaklich, ending his four-year tenure at the helm.[4] On April 1, the school announced that Stanford assistant Rob Ehsan would be named Yaklich's successor.[5]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Drew King 0 G 6'3" 189 Sophomore Phoenix, Arizona Transferred to Elon
Isaiah Rivera 1 G 6'5" 210 Senior Geneseo, Illinois Transferred to DePaul
Steven Clay 2 G 6'4" 185 Sophomore Milwaukee, Wisconsin Transferred to Morehead State
CJ Jones 3 G 6'5" 195 Sophomore East St. Louis, Illinois Transferred to Kansas State
Toby Okani 5 G 6'8" 210 Senior Orange, New Jersey Transferred to West Virginia
Ethyn Brown 10 G 5'11" 185 Sophomore Belleville, Illinois Transferred to Quincy
Nathan Ojukwu 13 F 6'6" 215 Freshman Boise, Idaho Transferred to Northwest Florida State
Marquise Kennedy 14 G 6'1" 190 Graduate student Chicago, Illinois Exhausted eligibility
Griffin Yaklich 15 G 6'6" 210 Senior Joliet, Illinois Transferred to Roosevelt
Yusef Salih 23 G 6'2" 192 Junior Gainesville, Virginia Transferred to East Texas A&M
Jaden Brownell 33 F 6'9" 230 RS Sophomore Sandy, Utah Transferred to Samford
Cameron Fens 54 C 6'10" 255 Sophomore Dubuque, Iowa Transferred to South Dakota

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Ahmad Henderson II 0 G 5'9" 155 Sophomore Chicago, Illinois Niagara
Jordan Mason 2 G 6'4" 175 Junior San Antonio, Texas Texas State
Modestas Kancleris 5 F 6'9" 205 RS Senior Kaunas, Lithuania Cal State Bakersfield
Tyem Freeman 8 G 6'5" 205 Graduate student Springfield, Missouri Kent State
Koby Jeffries 9 G 6'3" 195 RS Senior Olive Branch, Mississippi UT Martin
Saša Ciani 21 F 6'9" 240 Sophomore Nova Gorica, Slovenia Xavier
Javon Jackson 22 G 6'3" 190 Junior Houston, Texas Utah State
Joshua Reaves 23 G 6'4" 205 Graduate student Hamden, Connecticut Mount St. Mary's

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jayce Nathaniel
F 		Buford, Georgia AZ Compass Prep 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg)  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: N/A
Carlos Harris III
G 		Chicago, Illinois Curie High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg)  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: N/A
Iker Garmendia
F 		Barcelona, Spain Joventut Badalona 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 190 lb (86 kg)  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2024–25 UIC Flames men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Ahmad Henderson II 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 155 lb (70 kg) So Niagara Chicago, Illinois
F 1 Jayce Nathaniel 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr AZ Compass Prep Buford, Georgia
G 2 Jordan Mason 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Texas State San Antonio, Texas
G 3 Carlos Harris III 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Curie High School Chicago, Illinois
G 4 Ethan Pickett 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Triton College Pensacola, Florida
F 5 Modestas Kancleris 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Sr Cal State Bakersfield Kaunas, Lithuania
G 6 Khaled Khaled 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Fr Reavis High School Burbank, Illinois
G 8 Tyem Freeman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) GS Kent State Springfield, Missouri
G 9 Koby Jeffries 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Sr UT Martin Olive Branch, Mississippi
F 14 Iker Garmendia 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Joventut Badalona Barcelona, Spain
F 21 Saša Ciani 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Xavier Nova Gorica, Slovenia
G 22 Javon Jackson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Utah State Houston, Texas
G 23 Joshua Reaves 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) GS Mount St. Mary's Hamden, Connecticut
G 34 Grant Welch 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 187 lb (85 kg) So Moline High School Moline, Illinois
F 50 Filip Skobalj 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Don Bosco-Schule Rostock Belgrade, Serbia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 24, 2024

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 30, 2024*
4:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Aurora
Exhibition game 		W 91–76 
  – -    – -    – -  Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
Regular season
November 4, 2024*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		St. Francis (IL) W 91–43  1–0
  21 – Jackson   11 – Kancleris   5 – Henderson II  Credit Union 1 Arena (594)
Chicago, IL
November 8, 2024*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Yale W 91–79  2–0
  19 – Freeman   11 – Ciani   7 – Henderson II  Credit Union 1 Arena (3,102)
Chicago, IL
November 12, 2024*
6:00 pm, BTN 		at Northwestern L 74–83  2–1
  17 – Jackson   8 – Tied   4 – Tied  Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,492)
Evanston, IL
November 16, 2024*
12:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Saint Mary's (MN) W 117–59  3–1
  21 – Reaves   9 – Kancleris   10 – Jackson  Credit Union 1 Arena (664)
Chicago, IL
November 21, 2024*
10:00 am, BallerTV 		vs. James Madison
Boardwalk Battle quarterfinals 		L 81–99  3–2
  17 – Henderson II   9 – Ciani   4 – Henderson II  Ocean Center (386)
Daytona Beach, FL
November 22, 2024*
10:00 am, BallerTV 		vs. La Salle
Boardwalk Battle consolation round 		W 96–83  4–2
  19 – Skobalj   11 – Ciani   4 – Jackson  Ocean Center 
Daytona Beach, FL
November 23, 2024*
12:00 pm, BallerTV 		vs. East Carolina
Boardwalk Battle 5th place game 		L 55–72  4–3
  10 – Tied   8 – Ciani   6 – Jackson  Ocean Center 
Daytona Beach, FL
December 4, 2024
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Northern Iowa       Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
December 8, 2024*
4:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Dartmouth       Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
December 15, 2024*
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Little Rock       Jack Stephens Center 
Little Rock, AR
December 20, 2024*
4:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Seattle       Redhawk Center 
Seattle, WA
December 29, 2024
4:00 pm, Marquee/ESPN+ 		at Illinois State       CEFCU Arena 
Normal, IL
January 1, 2025
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Drake       Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
January 4, 2025
4:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Belmont       Curb Event Center 
Nashville, TN
January 7, 2025
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Missouri State       Great Southern Bank Arena 
Springfield, MO
January 11, 2025
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Bradley       Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
January 15, 2025
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Murray State       Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
January 18, 2025
 ESPN+ 		at Valparaiso       Athletics–Recreation Center 
Valparaiso, IN
January 22, 2025
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Evansville       Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
January 25, 2025
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Southern Illinois       Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
January 29, 2025
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Bradley       Carver Arena 
Peoria, IL
February 1, 2025
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Indiana State       Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
February 5, 2025
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Illinois State       Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
February 8, 2025
 ESPN+ 		at Southern Illinois       Banterra Center 
Carbondale, IL
February 11, 2025
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Murray State       CFSB Center 
Murray, KY
February 16, 2025
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Missouri State       Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
February 19, 2025
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		at Drake       Knapp Center 
Des Moines, IA
February 22, 2025
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Evansville       Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
February 26, 2025
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Northern Iowa       McLeod Center 
Cedar Falls, IA
March 2, 2025
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Valparaiso       Credit Union 1 Arena 
Chicago, IL
MVC tournament
March 6–9, 2025
 ESPN+/CBSSN 		vs.        Enterprise Center 
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Sources:[6][7]

References

  1. ^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Standings". Missouri Valley Conference. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  2. ^ "UIC outlasts Southern Illinois 84-82 in OT in Missouri Valley Conference Tournament opener". AP News. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  3. ^ "Hickman has 20, Bradley defeats UIC 74-47 in MVC quarterfinal". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  4. ^ "Illinois-Chicago basketball fires head coach Luke Yaklich". FOX 32 Chicago. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  5. ^ "University of Illinois Chicago names Rob Ehsan as new men's basketball head coach". CBS Chicago. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  6. ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Schedule". UIC Athletics. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  7. ^ "UIC Flames 2024-25 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 24, 2024.