Illinois Basketball: This is the Leron Black I expected to see

Leron Black, like everyone else on the Illinois basketball team, has not made it to the NCAA tournament.

This is the ultimate goal for the Illinois fan base and most likely the Illini this season and moving forward. They need to become a team who gets to the postseason on a regular basis. Life would be a lot easier for fans and for the coaching staff in the recruiting game. That is just more ammo to use when attempting to land a big fish.

There have been many reasons why the Illini have failed to get to the postseason since Black has been around. One of those reasons I set squarely on Black’s shoulders. He hasn’t performed up to the hype he came into the program with. Illinois was supposed to be getting this 6-foot-7 beast from Tennessee who ranked No. 38 in the class of 2014.

Instead, the Illini received a player who couldn’t stay on the court for one reason or another. He was in foul trouble so often early on in his career. During his freshman season he averaged 2.7 fouls in the 14.8 minutes he played per game. The following season was even worse. He averaged 2.9 fouls in the 12.9 minutes per game that year.

Due to an injury, Black was able to take a medical redshirt his sophomore year. He entered his redshirt sophomore campaign last year suspended for the first four games, though. He made a dumb decision earlier in the year and, honestly, he was lucky he wasn’t kicked off the team.

Even when Black played last season, he wasn’t spectacular. He only averaged 8.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in the 20 minutes per game he received. This wasn’t the type of production I expected but he has a chance to change things this year. He can right the ship and he has done a great job of doing so thus far.

Through two games with the Illini this season, Black is averaging 18.5 points, 7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He has been sensational in the 24.5 minutes per game he has received. This is the Leron Black that I expected to see all along. He is aggressive on the court but he can hone that aggression into a positive for Illinois.

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I honestly believe he can keep this great play up throughout the season. Black is a superstar talent who has a chance to be a member of the First-Team All-Big Ten squad, and he can get to the ultimate goal of going dancing in March.