Illinois Basketball: Key Hits and Misses From the Mac Irvin Fire
Illinois didn’t have a problem scoring points last season. They could put up points on demand, but adding more scoring power isn’t a bad idea.
The Mac Irvin Fire has forward Justin Smith. He stands at 6-foot-7 and is a beast on the boards and scoring.
Smith is a 3-star recruit that is ranked as the 134th best player in the class of 2017 and the 5th best player in the state of Illinois.
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This AAU season has been great for Smith. He has shown that he belongs in DI basketball with his great play.
Smith has averaged 11.4 PPG so far this summer. That leads the entire Mac Irvin Fire team. He is also second on the team in rebounding with an average of 5.1 RPG.
Illinois needs a big scoring and rebounding machine on the team. They could always use more of these players for 2017.
In 2017, we will be looking at a few players on the Illini roster who will be similar.
Illinois has Kipper Nichols, who we haven’t seen anything from yet because he will play his first minutes after the first semester this season.
The Illini also have DJ Williams, who is extremely athletic but still raw. He can get rebounds but his scoring is still in the works.
Adding a player like Smith would be great. It looks like he is down to two teams Illinois and Stanford. Distance may be the deciding factor, so hopefully, Illinois can keep him home.
Next: PG Charlie Moore