2024–25 UIC Flames men's basketball team

2024–25 UIC Flames men's basketball
2024–25 UIC Flames men's basketball
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	15–11 (8–8 MVC)
Head coach	Rob Ehsan (1st season);
Associate head coach	Kevin Devitt (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Johnny Hill (1st season); David Berkun (1st season); Ryan Davis (1st season); Jaime Smith (1st season);
Home arena	Credit Union 1 Arena
	Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

2024–25 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Drake	13	–	3	.813	23	–	3	.885
Bradley	12	–	4	.750	21	–	6	.778
Northern Iowa	12	–	4	.750	18	–	9	.667
Belmont	10	–	6	.625	18	–	9	.667
UIC	8	–	8	.500	15	–	11	.577
Illinois State	7	–	9	.438	15	–	12	.556
Indiana State	7	–	9	.438	13	–	14	.481
Murray State	7	–	9	.438	13	–	14	.481
Southern Illinois	7	–	9	.438	12	–	15	.444
Evansville	7	–	9	.438	10	–	17	.370
Valparaiso	4	–	12	.250	11	–	16	.407
Missouri State	2	–	14	.125	9	–	18	.333

† 2025 MVC tournament winner As of February 17, 2025

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 (MVC).

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, AZ	Transferred to Elon
Isaiah Rivera	1	G	6' 5"	210	Senior	Geneseo, IL	Transferred to DePaul
Steven Clay	2	G	6' 4"	185	Sophomore	Milwaukee, WI	Transferred to Morehead State
CJ Jones	3	G	6' 5"	195	Sophomore	East St. Louis, IL	Transferred to Kansas State
Toby Okani	5	G	6' 8"	210	Senior	Orange, NJ	Transferred to West Virginia
Ethyn Brown	10	G	5' 11"	185	Sophomore	Belleville, IL	Transferred to Quincy
Nathan Ojukwu	13	F	6' 6"	215	Freshman	Boise, ID	Transferred to Northwest Florida State
Marquise Kennedy	14	G	6' 1"	190	Graduate student	Chicago, IL	Exhausted eligibility
Griffin Yaklich	15	G	6' 6"	210	Senior	Joliet, IL	Transferred to Roosevelt
Yusef Salih	23	G	6' 2"	192	Junior	Gainesville, VA	Transferred to East Texas A&M
Jaden Brownell	33	F	6' 9"	230	RS Sophomore	Sandy, UT	Transferred to Samford
Cameron Fens	54	C	6' 10"	255	Sophomore	Dubuque, IA	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, IL	Niagara
Jordan Mason	2	G	6' 4"	175	Junior	San Antonio, TX	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, MO	Kent State
Koby Jeffries	9	G	6' 3"	195	RS Senior	Olive Branch, MS	UT Martin
Saša Ciani	21	F	6' 9"	240	Sophomore	Nova Gorica, Slovenia	Xavier
Javon Jackson	22	G	6' 3"	190	Junior	Houston, TX	Utah State
Joshua Reaves	23	G	6' 4"	205	Graduate student	Hamden, CT	Mount St. Mary's

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight
Jayce Nathaniel F	Buford, GA	AZ Compass Prep	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	200 lb (91 kg)
Jayce Nathaniel F	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A
Carlos Harris III G	Chicago, IL	Curie High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)
Carlos Harris III G	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)
Iker Garmendia F	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 II Henderson	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	So	Niagara	Chicago, IL
F	1	Jayce Nathaniel	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	AZ Compass Prep	Buford, GA
G	2	Jordan Mason	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jr	Texas State	San Antonio, TX
G	3	Carlos III Harris	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Curie High School	Chicago, IL
G	4	Ethan Pickett	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sr	Triton College	Pensacola, FL
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, IL
G	8	Tyem Freeman	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	GS	Kent State	Springfield, MO
G	9	Koby Jeffries	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS Sr	UT Martin	Olive Branch, MS
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, TX
G	23	Joshua Reaves	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	GS	Mount St. Mary's	Hamden, CT
G	34	Grant Welch	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	So	Moline High School	Moline, IL
F	50	Filip Skobalj	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Sr	Don Bosco-Schule Rostock	Belgrade, Serbia

Head coach

Rob Ehsan (UC Davis)

Assistant coach(es)

Kevin Devitt (DePaul)
Johnny Hill (UT Arlington)
David Berkun (VCU)
Ryan Davis (Chicago)
Jaime Smith (Alabama–Huntsville)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 24, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition season
November 30, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	Aurora	W 91–76		19 – tied	10 – tied	7 – Jackson	Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL
Regular season
November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 a.m., BallerTV	vs. James Madison Boardwalk Battle quarterfinal	L 81–99	3–2	17 – Henderson II	9 – Ciani	4 – Henderson II	Ocean Center (386) Daytona Beach, FL
November 22, 2024* 10:00 a.m., BallerTV	vs. La Salle Boardwalk Battle consolation semifinal	W 96–83	4–2	19 – Skobalj	11 – Ciani	4 – Jackson	Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL
November 23, 2024* 12:00 p.m., BallerTV	vs. East Carolina Boardwalk Battle consolation final	L 55–72	4–3	10 – tied	8 – Ciani	6 – Jackson	Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL
December 4, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Northern Iowa	L 56–83	4–4 (0–1)	14 – Jackson	17 – Ciani	3 – Jackson	Credit Union 1 Arena (732) Chicago, IL
December 8, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	Dartmouth	W 69–68 ^OT	5–4	17 – tied	13 – Kancleris	4 – Jackson	Credit Union 1 Arena (728) Chicago, IL
December 15, 2024* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Little Rock	W 77–69 ^OT	6–4	15 – tied	13 – Kancleris	5 – Mason	Jack Stephens Center (602) Little Rock, AR
December 20, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Seattle	W 79–68	7–4	14 – Henderson II	7 – Kancleris	9 – Henderson II	Redhawk Center (852) Seattle, WA
December 29, 2024 4:00 p.m., Marquee/ESPN+	at Illinois State	W 73–67	8–4 (1–1)	16 – Ciani	9 – Ciani	4 – Henderson II	CEFCU Arena (3,841) Normal, IL
January 1, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Drake	W 74–70	9–4 (2–1)	17 – Mason	5 – Ciani	5 – Mason	Credit Union 1 Arena (1,200) Chicago, IL
January 4, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Belmont	L 87–92	9–5 (2–2)	18 – Henderson II	8 – Jackson	5 – Mason	Curb Event Center (1,200) Nashville, TN
January 7, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Missouri State	W 80–63	10–5 (3–2)	18 – Freeman	5 – Freeman	6 – Ciani	Great Southern Bank Arena (1,406) Springfield, MO
January 11, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Bradley	L 60–61	10–6 (3–3)	15 – Mason	11 – Ciani	4 – Henderson II	Credit Union 1 Arena (1,896) Chicago, IL
January 15, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Murray State	W 97–93 ^2OT	11–6 (4–3)	30 – Jackson	10 – Ciani	5 – tied	Credit Union 1 Arena (1,391) Chicago, IL
January 18, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Valparaiso	W 81–74	12–6 (5–3)	17 – Jackson	12 – Ciani	4 – Freeman	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,456) Valparaiso, IN
January 22, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Evansville	W 78–67	13–6 (6–3)	19 – Mason	9 – Kancleris	5 – Mason	Ford Center (3,987) Evansville, IN
January 25, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Southern Illinois	L 85–89	13–7 (6–4)	23 – Mason	6 – Freeman	7 – Mason	Credit Union 1 Arena (2,326) Chicago, IL
January 29, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Bradley	W 93–70	14–7 (7–4)	25 – Jackson	9 – Kancleris	7 – Mason	Carver Arena (5,785) Peoria, IL
February 1, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Indiana State	L 83–88	14–8 (7–5)	20 – tied	10 – Kancleris	6 – Mason	Credit Union 1 Arena (1,352) Chicago, IL
February 5, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Illinois State	L 79–81	14–9 (7–6)	18 – Freeman	7 – Pickett	5 – Jackson	Credit Union 1 Arena (1,554) Chicago, IL
February 8, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Southern Illinois	L 67–79	14–10 (7–7)	12 – tied	5 – Freeman	2 – tied	Banterra Center (4,321) Carbondale, IL
February 11, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Murray State	W 63–53	14–11 (7–8)	12 – Kancleris	10 – Kancleris	3 – Mason	CFSB Center (4,874) Murray, KY
February 16, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Missouri State	W 63–58	15–11 (8–8)	Jackson – 16	8 – Kancleris	2 – tied	Credit Union 1 Arena (875) Chicago, IL
February 19, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Drake						Knapp Center Des Moines, IA
February 22, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Evansville						Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL
February 26, 2025 6:00 p.m., MVC TV Network/ESPN+	at Northern Iowa						McLeod Center Cedar Falls, IA
March 2, 2025 TBA, TBD	Valparaiso						Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL
MVC tournament
March 6–9, 2025 MVC TV Network/CBSSN/CBS	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

^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Standings". Missouri Valley Conference. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
^ "UIC outlasts Southern Illinois 84-82 in OT in Missouri Valley Conference Tournament opener". AP News. March 8, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
^ "Hickman has 20, Bradley defeats UIC 74-47 in MVC quarterfinal". CBS Sports. AP. March 9, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
^ "Illinois-Chicago basketball fires head coach Luke Yaklich". FOX 32 Chicago. March 10, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
^ Harris, Marshall (April 1, 2024). "University of Illinois Chicago names Rob Ehsan as new men's basketball head coach". CBS Chicago. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Schedule". UIC Athletics. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
^ "UIC Flames Schedule 2024-25". ESPN. Retrieved November 24, 2024.

[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. March 8, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.

[3] "Hickman has 20, Bradley defeats UIC 74-47 in MVC quarterfinal". CBS Sports. AP. March 9, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.

[4] "Illinois-Chicago basketball fires head coach Luke Yaklich". FOX 32 Chicago. March 10, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.

[5] Harris, Marshall (April 1, 2024). "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 Schedule 2024-25". ESPN. Retrieved November 24, 2024.

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v t e UIC Flames men's basketball
Venues	Men's Gymnasium (1947–1965) UIC Physical Education Building (1965–1982) Credit Union 1 Arena (1982–present)
Culture & lore	Sparky D. Dragon "Fire Up Flames"
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25