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Illinois Basketball: Player expectations for 2017-2018 season

By Rees Woodcock

March 17, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; General view of the court before the game between the Oregon Ducks and the Iona Gaels in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
March 17, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; General view of the court before the game between the Oregon Ducks and the Iona Gaels in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 21, 2017; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines forward Moritz Wagner (13) and Illinois Fighting Illini guard Aaron Jordan (23) wrestle for the ball in the second half at Crisler Center. Michigan won 66-57. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2017; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines forward Moritz Wagner (13) and Illinois Fighting Illini guard Aaron Jordan (23) wrestle for the ball in the second half at Crisler Center. Michigan won 66-57. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

Aaron Jordan

There are a lot of mysteries in the world. Is the Loch Ness Monster real? Is that video of Big Foot taking a Sunday stroll through the woods real? And, finally, where was Aaron Jordan last season? All are very legit questions.

We may never know the answer to any of those three questions, but this season, Illini fans will have a chance to see Jordan play some basketball. He didn’t get a chance to play much last season and for some writers on the Writing Illini staff—cough, cough me—the blame rests on the shoulders of the previous coaching regime.

Jordan averaged 1 point and 1.1 rebounds in the 6.9 minutes per game he received. That type of production isn’t good and should be fixed this upcoming season. He has the talent to be a solid contributor on this basketball team.

Don’t expect Jordan to be a starter, though. There are some talented players on the team right now and more coming in from the class of 2017 who will likely start ahead of him, but he will be a big-time player moving forward.

Jordan is going to be a primary backup to either the No. 2 or sometimes the No. 3 spot. He will get a bump in minutes this upcoming season to about 15 minutes per game. That will also increase his points and rebounds to about 6 points and 4 rebounds per game. Underwood’s offense is conducive to scoring and this well help Jordan tremendously.

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