Illinois Basketball: Best Illini 3-on-3 basketball teams

9 of 11

Dec 21, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; The Illinois Fighting Illini cheerleaders practice a routine before a basketball game against the Missouri Tigers at Scottrade Center. Illinois won 75-66. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

Team 8: Steve Bardo, Kendall Gill, Marcus Liberty

The late 1980’s era of basketball was some of the best in the history of the Illinois basketball program. The players that were a part of this era live in the hearts of Illini fans.

This is the first of two teams from this era. This team starts off with Steve Bardo leading the way. Bardo wasn’t a tremendous scorer for the Illini but he did everything. He finished his senior season averaging 9.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He was the junkyard down that this team needed to have the success they had.

With Bardo being the primary ball handler, this opens the floor up for Kendall Gill to take over as their main scorer. Gill was dominant in his time with the Illini. He averaged over 10 points per game in three of the four seasons with the program, and his senior year put up an average of 20 points per game. Having Bardo distributing to a great player like Gill would be hard to stop in a 3-on-3 tournament.

The big man of this trio would be Marcus Liberty. He was a solid 6-foot-8 player who could score at will and get rebounds as well. He averaged 17.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game during his senior season with the Illini.

These three players had tremendous success with the Illini that included NCAA tournament appearances and a berth into the Final Four as well. This team has a nice combination of players who would be extremely tough in a 3-on-3 tournament.

Home/Illinois Basketball