The emergence of Te’Jon Lucas last season was a bright spot in a rather dim and gloomy season. He came onto the scene and gave hope to all of Illini Nation.
Past
Lucas came into the Illinois basketball program as the only member of the class of 2016. I would have counted Kipper Nichols as well but he transferred into the program. Despite Lucas being the only commitment, he made a huge impact on the team year one.
The previous coaching regime didn’t play him much early in the year. He only started receiving 20 or more minutes per game in late January and by that time the Illini were 12-8 and looking at another missed NCAA tournament.
Lucas finished last season averaging 20.7 minutes per game, and in that time he averaged 4.8 points, 3.1 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game. He really grew as a player as the season went on and I expect him to continue to grow this season as well.
Present
Brad Underwood is now the head coach of the Illinois basketball team. He runs an offense that is conducive to great guard play, so I think Lucas will thrive. He will have a great year and there won’t be too much pressure on him because he isn’t the only producing guard on the team.
I think Lucas will continue being the starting No. 1 guard on the team this season. He finished last year as the main point guard and will be Underwood’s main ball handler. He won’t have to play a ton of minutes, though.
Lucas will likely see a timeshare with incoming freshmen Trent Frazier and Mark Smith. Lucas and Smith will be the starting No. 1 and No. 2 guards but they will be interchangeable throughout the game. Frazier will also come in to spell minutes. The guard depth is something we haven’t seen in a very long time.
Next: Kipper Nichols past, present and future
Future
The future is extremely bright for the Illinois basketball team and for Lucas. He will be the starting No. 1 guard this season and for the next two years after that. I see him being a four-year talent for the Illini.
There will be other guards to come into the Illinois program but I highly doubt any of them dethrone Lucas from being the No. 1 ball handler. He will continue averaging around 25 minutes per game.
Lucas is going to be one of the pillars to a Big Ten title team in the near future. He is a talented player who will lead this team for the next three years.