Gibbs-Lawhorn finding his way

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OMAHA, Neb. — Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn has had the same daily routine nearly the entire season.

An early pre-practice lift with strength and conditioning coach Adam Fletcher started his day at Ubben Basketball Complex.

Then he'd get in a full workout before practice getting shots up if he didn't have to run with the scout team. If he did, he'd use the time in between those responsibilities and practice — 15-20 minutes — to run through a shorter, modified version of his workout.

Effort the freshman guard understood he had to put in this season. Except for a point toward the middle of the season where frustrations mounted and his motivation waned.

Playing time became sporadic after Illinois entered the second month of the season. The level of competition rose, and Gibbs-Lawhorn's opportunity fell.

"I lost focus of that key, specific thing to always put work in outside of practice," the freshman guard said.

It was a lapse quickly remedied. Gibbs-Lawhorn recognized he had never been like that. Recognized he needed to get back in the gym. That the extra work was his way through.

"That's when I lost my whole foggy mentality," Gibbs-Lawhorn said. "I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I just had to go work at it again."

Playing time didn't suddenly appear, though. Gibbs-Lawhorn took 10 did not plays during Big Ten play and didn't see the court in the final five games of the regular season.

But Brad Underwood still turned to his 6-foot-1 freshman guard in all three Big Ten tournament games looking for a spark off the bench. The Illinois coach did the same thing in the first half of Thursday's first-round NCAA tournament game against Morehead State.

Gibbs-Lawhorn delivered. Energy off the bench with the 14th-seeded Eagles trading blows with the third-seeded Illini. And two consequential three-point makes.

"When you see that ball go in, that is like unlocking the vault sometimes," Underwood said with third-seeded Illinois (27-8) on the eve of a 7:40 p.m. second-round NCAA tournament matchup against 11-seed Duquesne (25-11) on Saturday in Omaha, Neb. "His confidence is growing. He knows that I'm comfortable with him and could throw him in at any time."

Gibbs-Lawhorn had to work to get that point. A wild debut — 18 points in 19 minutes in Illinois' season opener against Eastern Illinois — showed flashes of his potential. He knocked down two threes and didn't miss any of his twos.

"Something told me in my stomach that it wasn't going to be this easy," Gibbs-Lawhorn said was here his thoughts in the aftermath of his breakout performance against EIU. "I just really tried to stay humble and try not to get too far ahead of myself and just keep working at it every day. I knew I wasn't going to come out every night and start having 18 points. It's very hard to do — especially on a team that we have with a bunch of older talent.

"I just took a step back from it like, 'OK, I know it's not going to be like this all season.' It was fun. I'm glad it was the first time of the season, but it was time to start being more realistic with my role."

Gibbs-Lawhorn got double-digit minutes in five of Illinois' first six games. Limited action against Marquette was the outlier — and the harbinger of the role he was about to assume. The Lafayette, Ind., native got double-digit run just once in Big Ten play in Illinois' blowout home win against Michigan, as the Illini climbed to the No. 2 spot in the conference standings through January, February and into March.

"At first, it was tough on me," Gibbs-Lawhorn said. "I was fine with not having 18 a game, but not playing just took a different toll on me."

Illinois assistant coach Tim Anderson said Gibbs-Lawhorn stayed "locked into the process." That it was tough for the freshman guard coming into a situation with multiple veteran guards in the same backcourt, but he kept working.

"When his number was called, he was ready to go," Anderson said. "That's just basically a testament to him and the foundation of his parents just keeping him levelheaded and understanding and ready to go."

Gibbs-Lawhorn said he leaned on his mom, April Lawhorn, through that process. She was the one who helped him handle the moment. A role that hasn't gotten much bigger in terms of minutes played in the last week but has certainly come in more significant postseason moments.

"She has her moments when she gets frustrated," Gibbs-Lawhorn said. "It's because she only sees that I'm frustrated. When I'm frustrated, the big picture goes out the window for her. She just cares about her baby. It was actually my mom who helped me stay ready and be like this for the rest of the season."

That Gibbs-Lawhorn didn't stop putting in the work to be ready for his opportunity save for his brief moment of doubt is why Underwood was comfortable inserting him into the first half of Thursday's game against Morehead State. Illinois' season was literally on the line — March is defined by "win or go home" — but there was no hesitation in turning to the freshman guard.

Gibbs-Lawhorn wasn't overwhelmed by the moment. Or lost in his success after.

"I messed up a little bit on defense," he said. "I'm a little harder on myself than anybody else is. It's kind of hard for me to be too hype about something."

That's why the Illinois coaching staff remains high on Gibbs-Lawhorn's potential. They targeted him in the recruitment process after he decommitted from Purdue for a reason.

"He's going to be a really big piece of what we do moving forward," Anderson said. "He's been through it. You've got to go through it to get to it. He's a young guy that's figuring it out and continuing to get better, but I think he's got more substance than sizzle."