Writing Illini
Fansided

Illinois Basketball: Where Mark Smith would fit in the Illini lineup

By Rees Woodcock

Mar 11, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Jalen Coleman-Lands (5) is guarded by Purdue Boilermakers guard P.J. Thompson (3) during the Big Ten Conference tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Jalen Coleman-Lands (5) is guarded by Purdue Boilermakers guard P.J. Thompson (3) during the Big Ten Conference tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The class of 2017 for the Illinois basketball team is quite special, as of today.

Illinois has four players signed up that will be the foundation for future success. Jeremiah Tilmon will solve the big man problem that they were going to run into this upcoming season.

Trent Frazier will solve the problem of Illinois only having one point guard that handles the ball. Now he and Te’Jon Lucas will run wild in the backcourt.

Bringing in Da’Monte Williams will add depth to the guard position that we haven’t seen in a very long time. And Javon Pickett will give Brad Underwood an option of playing three guards at a time because he is so good and versatile.

But, there is one more player that Illinois is looking at for the class of 2017 and his name is Mark Smith. All Illini fans have been familiar with this name for quite some time and fans of other programs are just starting to catch wind.

Smith is ranked as a four-star guard who is the No. 78 player nationally. He was a late bloomer and I honestly believe that he is better than his No. 78 ranking. If he would have been discovered sooner I think he would easily be top 50. He also won the coveted Illinois Mr. Basketball award as well.

There has been a sense that Illinois has been in the lead for Smith the entire time. They were one of the first teams to hop on him before he was big. But since then, other programs have started to really warm up to him. He has offers from the likes of Indiana and Michigan State and has been getting attention from Kansas and Kentucky.

I think Smith will ultimately end up with Illinois and that is exciting to think about, but where would he be slotted in the rotation year one?

It all really depends on if Brad Underwood goes with two or three guards. If he decides to go with just two guards to start games I think Smith would be starting at the No. 2 spot with Lucas manning the No. 1 spot.

Underwood should then bring in Jalen-Colman Lands to spell minutes for Smith’s position and the No. 3 spot as well. This will make Illinois extremely dangerous on offense.

If Underwood starts a three guard rotation then I think he plays Lucas at the No.1 spot, Smith at the No. 2 spot and Coleman-Lands at the No. 3 spot. This starting lineup is what I want for next season. It would give the Illini so many options to start the game and it would solve the slow starts they were accustomed to this past season.

Next: Ranking the last 10 recruiting classes

Illinois has a great class coming in for 2017, but landing Smith would give Underwood even more options for his rotations. The Illini could have one of the best backcourts in the Big Ten.

Home/Illinois Basketball