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Illinois Basketball: Which Illini players hit expectations in 2017-2018

By Rees Woodcock

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 20: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini gives instructions to his players during a game against the Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center on February 20, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 20: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini gives instructions to his players during a game against the Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center on February 20, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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PISCATAWAY, NJ – FEBRUARY 25: Aaron Jordan
PISCATAWAY, NJ – FEBRUARY 25: Aaron Jordan /

Aaron Jordan

Expectation: Exceeded

I was extremely curious how Aaron Jordan would do this past season with a new regime taking over. He didn’t mesh well with the old coaching staff, but Brad Underwood runs a different style and could use him in different ways.

Jordan really impressed me for multiple reasons this season. The first reason was that he stuck around and didn’t transfer because of the coaching change or because he didn’t see much playing time two years ago. He wants to be an Illini and I have a great respect for that. The other reason he impressed me was with his play.

The expectation I had for Jordan this past season was 3 or 4 points and 2 rebounds per game. There was no reason to believe he would do much more than that after what we saw in the final year of John Groce. But, wow, did Jordan surprise the masses.

Jordan played well during the non-conference and – despite his production slowing down during Big Ten play – he still managed to average 7.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. He had 11 games this past season where he hit double-digit points including two games hitting the 20-point mark. This is why Jordan exceeded my expectations.

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