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Illinois Basketball: Tim Finke would fill a need in 2018

By Rees Woodcock

Mar 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; A general view of the basketballs on the ball racks before the start of the McDonalds All-American Powerade Jamfest at the Chicago Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; A general view of the basketballs on the ball racks before the start of the McDonalds All-American Powerade Jamfest at the Chicago Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Heading into 2018, the Illinois basketball team will need another wing player.

The starting lineup will be slightly different from this upcoming season. Illinois will have Mark Alstork likely starting at the No. 3 guard/forward spot this season. He is a great player but is only around for one year as a graduate transfer. Behind him will likely be Aaron Jordan but he hasn’t shown enough yet to warrant a starting role.

An option to fill that role in 2018 would be Tim Finke. He has been on the Illini radar since he entered high school and is still a top priority for the new coaching staff. He is a 6-foot-6, 201-pound small forward from Champaign Central High School in Champaign, Illinois. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 83 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 23 small forward in the nation.

According to Derek Piper of Scout, Finke visited the Illini on June 14 to “hang out with the staff and watch workouts”.  There isn’t any bad news in that statement because the more time he spends with Brad Underwood and the other Illini coaches the better. They will pitch to him that he is needed and that won’t be a lie.

Finke would fit nicely into Underwood’s system, and the starting lineup would arguably be the best since the 2005 national title run.

Expect Te’Jon Lucas to return as a junior and be the main point guard. Mark Smith would still fill the No. 2 spot on the team and handle the ball as a sophomore. Finke would then be at the No. 3 spot as he can run, shoot and has size that can be difficult for opposing offenses. Leron Black would then be at the No. 4 spot as a senior and the leader on the team. And then, hopefully, one of the two big men that Underwood snagged in the class of 2017, or potentially a big man from 2018, can step up and play the No. 5 spot.

Next: Starting lineup with Matic Vesel for 2017-18

That is a great vision for the starting lineup for the Illini. Of course, Kipper Nichols also might start in place of Finke but that would be a fun duel to watch to see who gets the starting nod. The starting lineup would be healthy, the bench would be deep and Illinois basketball would be back to their winning ways. The future would be extremely bright with Finke.

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