Adding Anthony Higgs to the class of 2018 on Tuesday was big for the Illinois basketball program.
Higgs adds some size to what was a pretty small lineup. There is no doubt in my mind that he will contribute right away for this team. With the addition of Higgs, how would you rate this class of 2018?
It is hard to rate this class because there are so many commitments. Illinois now has seven players signed up for 2018 with a possibility of finishing with a total of nine. Let that sink in for a moment. There could be nine new players on this Illinois roster to start the upcoming season.
What areas did the Illini need to address? Let’s start with the transfers and graduates. The guards that departed were Mark Alstork, Mark Smith and Te’Jon Lucas. The forwards and big men who transferred were Leron Black, Michael Finke, Greg Eboigbodin and Matic Vesel. That is a total of seven players that departed.
I am going to start with the bad and end with the good when it comes to grading the class of 2018. Illinois needed to replace those four big men, three of which contributed big-time minutes last season. The replacements Brad Underwood was able to snag were Samba Kane, Giorgi Bezhanishvili and newly committed Anthony Higgs.
Kane is the highest ranked out of the three coming in as the No. 280 player in the class of 2018. The fact that is the best big man, according to the rankings, Illinois could get worries me. On top of that, Kane’s status with the team seems to be up in the air right now. He had some issues with his transcript this summer but, hopefully, he is ready to go in the fall.
Bezhanishvili and Higgs are two wildcards in my mind. They both could be pretty good players but are both ranked sub-350 in the class of 2018. I really like what Higgs can do athletically, and Bezhanishvili is a nice big body that can pound around in the paint. If Kane is eligible, he will get the start. After him, it will be interesting to see who gets the primary backup role.
Overall, the replacements for what Illinois had in the paint last season weren’t what I was hoping. A lot of talent departed the program and, from the looks of things, the paint still remains somewhat of a question mark. I think these newcomers could be good, but I still have my worries.
That brings me to the guards on the Illinois roster. The Illini had three guards leave the program who contributed a lot of minutes last season. But, what Underwood did with this class of 2018 when it comes to guard play was sensational.
Lucas will be replaced by incoming transfer Andres Feliz. I think Feliz can score the ball just as good as or even better than Lucas. He has better handles and can control the floor better than Lucas as well. I think this was a clear upgrade at guard.
Alan Griffin should be able to replace Alstork without a problem. The defense of Alstork was pretty solid, but the offensive upgrade with Griffin should offset any defensive worries. I think, even as a true freshman, Griffin is at least as good as Alstork already. This was probably a slight upgrade for the Illini.
Smith departing did hurt a little, but Illinois replaced him with a top 30 recruit in Ayo Dosunmu. This was a massive upgrade considering Dosunmu can do everything on the court. I think he is a better scorer, rebounder and distributor of the ball than Smith. This was a great get by Underwood.
Illinois also has Tevian Jones coming in as well. He is a top 100 player who could start day one. The quality depth on the team grew with the addition of Jones. I am excited to see what he can do on the court.
The guard situation for the Illini improved immensely. They became more talented with the class of 2018, and I think they could really carry the team this upcoming season.
Next: Projected Illini starting lineup with Anthony Higgs
So far, the grade I give the class of 2018 is a B+. The only thing that is holding that grade back from being an A is the uncertainty of what the Illini will get from the incoming big men. But, I think everything is going to be fine. This class has a lot of talent, and they might not be done yet.