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

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CHAMPAIGN, IL – FEBRUARY 22: Illinois Fighting Illini cheerleaders perform during a timeout in the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on February 22, 2018, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

No. 5 Forward/Center

Starter: Samba Kane

I know it seems a bit premature but the Illinois basketball team doesn’t have a big man and this killed them last season. That is why I have Samba Kane starting at the No. 5 for the Illini.

Illinois offered Kane a scholarship less than a week ago, and he is already taking his first official visit to Champaign this weekend. He will be joining Tevian Jones in what is arguably the biggest recruiting weekend for the Illini in the last decade.

Kane wasn’t on the recruiting radar of any of the recruiting sites for a while, but he is now rated as a three-star recruit. He has had some recruiting attention but the fact he has only played two years in the United States is why he doesn’t have more. This kid has nice size too. Rivals list him at 6-foot-11, but I have seen other places where he is 7-foot or even 7-foot-1.

Illinois doesn’t have much in the way of a big man and that is why I think Kane could start year one for the Illini. He is raw but he is a shot blocker and can move. He would be a great addition to this team.

Backup: Greg Eboigbodin

This past season, Illinois fans saw the emergence of what could be a pretty good player in Greg Eboigbodin. He showed signs of the possibility of being pretty talented in a year or two, but he was pretty raw his freshman season.

Eboigbodin only averaged 2.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game last season. He got into foul trouble a lot, but then you would have the games where he finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds in just 16 minutes of action. The future is bright for this kid. I think he ends up being the primary backup to Kane if he decides to commit, though.

Next: Grading the first Illini season under Brad Underwood

Backup: Matic Vesel

There were times last season where Matic Vesel needed to play some minutes because Illinois was so thin at the No. 5 spot and Leron Black and Greg Eboigbodin were getting into foul trouble.

The best game for Vesel was against Longwood where he had 2 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. He is going to see few minutes as the third option at the No. 5, though. At least Illinois will have some depth.

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