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Illinois basketball projected lineup with class of 2018

By Rees Woodcock

MORGANTOWN, WV - FEBRUARY 04: Brad Underwood of Oklahoma State Cowboys yells at the referee against the West Virginia Mountaineers at the WVU Coliseum on February 4, 2017 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
MORGANTOWN, WV - FEBRUARY 04: Brad Underwood of Oklahoma State Cowboys yells at the referee against the West Virginia Mountaineers at the WVU Coliseum on February 4, 2017 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 06: Basketballs are shown in a ball rack before a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference Basketball Tournament between the Santa Clara Broncos and the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Orleans Arena on March 6, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gonzaga won 77-68. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

No. 3 Guard/Forward

Starter: Ayo Dosunmu

The first class of 2018 recruit to make the lineup for the Illini next season is going to be Ayo Dosunmu. He is a superstar guard who would help Illinois get back to the Sweet 16 and possibly further. He is currently rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 29 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 8 point guard in the nation.

Getting Dosunmu is going to be tough. He has a ton of other programs after him right now and the blue bloods haven’t even started recruiting him very had yet. But, Illinois seems to be one of the top schools for him and Underwood is doing well recruiting. Getting Dosunmu would solidify the No. 3 spot in the Illini lineup.

Backup: Kipper Nichols

Illinois had a few freshmen emerge as talented players last season. Lucas was one of those players with his great passing ability and leadership on the floor. The other was Kipper Nichols. He was a transfer from Tulane who helped the Illini.

Nichols will continue being a big part of the Illinois lineup in 2018. Just because he is the backup to Dosunmu right now doesn’t mean he won’t get minutes. He will still see a lot of playing time because he is long and athletic and can score the ball as well.

Backup: Talen Horton-Tucker

Another player who is a late bloomer that the Illini are picking up on is Talen Horton-Tucker. He is a talented guard-forward who is going to be wanted by many teams when his recruitment is finished. He is a three-star recruit who is the No. 35 small forward in the class of 2018.

Horton-Tucker is a good player who the Illini could use. There are some recruiting people even saying he is going to be the second player to pull the trigger in the class of 2018. Getting a player like Horton-Tucker would help with depth and he would likely be behind Nichols to start the season.  But, look for him to still get some solid minutes.

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