There has been an Illinois basketball debate on Twitter regarding the class of 2018.
Illinois currently has multiple scholarships offered for this class but the big question remains; how does Brad Underwood use his three available scholarship openings for 2018?
Plain and simple, if Underwood has offered you a scholarship and you want to sign with the Illini please do. He knows what he wants as a head coach and the players he has offered a scholarship fit his systems.
Ayo Dosunmu is, of course, the No. 1 priority for the Illinois basketball team right now. Securing his commitment will be huge for the program because he is extremely talented and the No. 1 player in the state of Illinois. He is also the unanimous choice for one of the three available spots for 2018. After him, the debate gets a little trickier.
There are a handful of names vying for two spots for the Illini. Talen Horton-Tucker, Tim Finke, George Conditt and Morris Udeze are all serious candidates to fill those final two spots. I have heard many different combinations from the Illini faithful.
One of the consensus for the second spot in 2018 is either Horton-Tucker or Finke. Fans seem to be torn on which one they would want. They think both have upside and both have deficiencies as well. They also want to pair one of these talented players up with a big man. I have heard a combination of Finke and Conditt for 2018. While I like that, I would disagree if I had a choice.
I would take any of these players mentioned above. This isn’t about whether I want these players on the Illini because I do. They are all talented and would bring something to the program. But, if I had to choose, I would go small.
Give me both Finke and Horton-Tucker to go along with Dosunmu for 2018. Illinois is going to need more depth at guard once Mark Alstork leaves after this season. That is why Horton-Tucker would be so important for the Illini. He can play that guard-forward No. 3 spot for the Illini and that will be huge for Underwood.
Finke would be used at the No. 4 spot for the Illini. He can pair up nicely with Kipper Nichols for the next few years and then take the reins full-time when he is a junior. This would be a great opportunity for Finke to learn and get strong while not having to carry a starting load his first few years in college.
People might be asking; what about the big man? My answer to that question, parlay the class of 2018 guards into a big man in 2019. There are some extremely talented big men in the class of 2019 that are in Illinois’ backyard. Put all the resources into Francis Okoro, a four-star big man from Normal, Illinois and the No. 36 player in the class of 2019. Underwood could also get EJ Liddell from Belleville, Illinois to help with the size issue as well. He will grow some more by the time he gets into college.
Next: Breakdown of Tim Finke’s top 5 list
Underwood needs to snag Dosunmu and then add in Horton-Tucker and Finke to the mix for 2018. This will give you some great talent on the floor. He then can ride out the lack of size to 2019 where he can clean up the state of Illinois and get his big man. This is how I would want things to play out.