The Illinois basketball team had a great Tuesday afternoon as they received word of a big commitment for 2018.
Illinois picked up a commitment from 2018 big man Anthony Higgs. This was a good get for Brad Underwood and his coaching staff considering how desperate the need for a big man was becoming. Illinois now has more stability in the paint and this affects the potential starting lineup.
Heading into this commitment from Higgs, Illinois was going through some recruiting turmoil. Illini commit Samba Kane left the team for the summer and is having some issues with his transcript. This enabled speculation to creep in about whether or not he will become eligible to play this upcoming season.
On top of the Kane question marks, Illinois has had a number of players depart from the program and they haven’t been able to replace all of them. Their turnover this offseason has been something to marvel at as a fan.
But, I believe things are turning around for the Illinois basketball program. They have a good class of 2018 coming in who should be able to boost this team up into contention for an NCAA tournament berth. The addition of Higgs has helped this cause.
Here is the projected Illini starting lineup with Anthony Higgs.