Illinois Basketball: Predicting the postseason awards for 2017-18
Illini Rebounders Award
Leron Black was the winner of the Illini Rebounders Award last season. This didn’t come as a surprise because he is a pretty good rebounder and Illinois lacked a true big man with rebounding skills. He finished averaging 6.3 rebounds per game in 2016-17.
Illinois once again doesn’t have a true big man rebounder so this award will be up for grabs again. Black is going to be the starting No. 4 for the Illini and Michael Finke will likely be the No. 5. Those are the two favorites to win the award this season.
But, don’t be surprised if the Illini have a few guards up there getting some rebounds. Mark Smith is a good rebounding guard coming from the class of 2017. I would also watch out for Mark Alstork to get some solid rebounds this year as well.
Overall, though, I think it is clear who the winner of this award is going to be. Black pulled down 6.3 rebounds last year and with a more prominent role this season, he should increase that number. I look for him to be around 10 rebounds per game this season. He will once again win the rebounding award.