Nico Moretti ready for bigger role after redshirt season
Oct. 12—CHAMPAIGN — Nico Moretti's midseason arrival at Illinois this past January put him on a different path than the rest of his Illini teammates.
They were in the midst of an at times challenging season. The 6-foot-1 Italian guard parachuted in from the NBA Global Academy in Australia after playing the previous season at DME Academy in Daytona Beach, Fla.
A redshirt year for Moretti in the wake of that midseason arrival was always the plan. Learn as much as possible in 10 months while fine tuning his game and body and be ready for 2023-24.
The latter was arguably more important. Moretti arrived in Champaign checking in at 160 pounds. Limited to just practice reps on the basketball front, the bulk of his energy and effort was spent with strength and conditioning coach Adam Fletcher.
Moretti might not be on the Mike Tisdale diet of 6,000 calories a day, but Illinois certainly doesn't want him operating at a deficit. While some of his teammates are living a counter existence, at least calorically, Moretti is still trying to jump from his current 172 pounds to at least 180 this season.
"I have no restrictions," Moretti said. "I can eat whatever I want."
Turns out that means a lot of pasta. Moretti said he tries to eat four or five times a day — grubbing whenever he can, basically — but he leans into home-cooked meals.
And he's Italian. So that means pasta. Said pasta might not be homemade, but Moretti's sauce certainly is.
"I've been on the good end of some extra food," said Illinois guard Luke Goode, one of Moretti's roommates.
"He's a little goofy, so I thought it was going to be trash. Then I ate it and was like, 'That's pretty good.' Now, I ask him sometimes, 'Hey, Nico, you making some pasta tonight?'"
The goal for the 2023-24 season, of course, is to be more point guard than home cook.
The opportunity exists. Illinois didn't add any point guards this offseason despite real efforts to do so, and while Ty Rodgers is the likely starter heading into the Nov. 6 opener against Eastern Illinois, he won't play every minute at that position. Moretti's efforts the last 10 months — difficult as they might have been with no game-day reward — have him at least in position to give Illinois a pure, pass-first option at the point.
"Nico is a guy that has just tremendous experience beyond his years playing on the world stage," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. "He's tremendous offensively. He's got a lot of savvy and instinct."
Moretti has matched those inherent skills with a growing confidence in his abilities and in running the Illinois offense since his arrival in Champaign. Underwood called Moretti "a problem" on the scout team last year, and that has carried over into preparations for the coming season.
Moretti's scout team efforts were the first introduction his new teammates had to his ability as a point guard. How he thrived in pick-and-roll actions. How he made passes that put his teammates in good position to score. How he didn't get sped up, didn't over-dribble and didn't hold the ball.
"He just makes the right play," Illinois assistant coach Chester Frazier said. "We threw him right in the fire on the scout team, and he got quality reps there but not really what we do as far as game planning and running our stuff. He's always been a high processor in terms of basketball and his IQ. He sees the game at a different pace and a different level. He's had a great (10 months) being on campus."
Goode calls Moretti the best passer he's played with during his time at Illinois. The way Moretti handled his unique situation after arriving in Champaign stood out even more to Goode. Moretti put in the time to get to know his teammates on and off the court and dove in immediately in learning the Illini's scheme and system.
Not that it was easy. Moretti put in that work on the court in practice and in the weight room with Fletcher knowing any potential payoff wouldn't come for months. Staying locked in mentally through that is where Moretti leaned on his older brother, Davide, who was a two-year starter in three seasons at Texas Tech from 2017-20.
"He helped me a lot the first part of the year," Moretti said. "He helped me stay mentally ready more. I think physically and skill set, it's on me. I just put myself in a position to grow a lot and be competitive.
"I was trying to go as hard as I can, of course, for myself to get me a spot, but at the end of the day, it's playing against each other, competing against each other, and striving with each other. I'm happy to be here, happy to be in this organization, with my teammates."
