Illinois Basketball: Illini depth chart with Samba Kane and Tevian Jones

No. 1 Guard

Starter: Trent Frazier

Trent Frazier came into the Illinois basketball program last year as a borderline top 100 recruit. But, that clearly was an underrated ranking considering the numbers he put up for the Illini.

Frazier didn’t begin the year as the starting No. 1 guard for the Illini but with his sensational play, he showed the coaching staff he belonged in the starting lineup. He became the starter full-time in the Michigan game and only failed to score double-digit points two times after that night.

Entering next season, Frazier is easily going to be the starting No. 1 guard for the Illini. He is electric when he has the ball in his hands, and the offense runs smoothly with him leading the way. Look for him to improve on his 12.5 points, 3.1 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game during his sophomore campaign.

Backup: Te’Jon Lucas

There have been some grumblings about a potential transfer here with Te’Jon Lucas but I hope that doesn’t happen. There is a spot on this team for him and I loved watching him alongside Frazier in the backcourt last year.

Lucas ended up riding the pine toward the start of the Big Ten season, but Underwood realized how important this kid was to this team. He even started the last three games of the season alongside Frazier. This was fun to watch. I think Lucas can still get somewhere between 17-21 minutes per game next season. He is going to be relied on to be the primary backup to Frazier. That is an important role.