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Illinois Basketball: Projected Illini starting lineup with Adonis De La Rosa

By Rees Woodcock

KENT, OH - JANUARY 30: Kent State Golden Flashes center Adonis De La Rosa (1) celebrates after scoring with a jump shot during the second half of the men's college basketball game between the Buffalo Bulls and Kent State Golden Flashes on January 30, 2018, at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center in Kent, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
KENT, OH - JANUARY 30: Kent State Golden Flashes center Adonis De La Rosa (1) celebrates after scoring with a jump shot during the second half of the men's college basketball game between the Buffalo Bulls and Kent State Golden Flashes on January 30, 2018, at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center in Kent, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OH – MARCH 08: Kent State Golden Flashes center Adonis De La Rosa (1) celebrates during the final seconds of the MAC Mens Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal game between the Kent State Golden Flashes and Ball State Cardinals on March 8, 2018, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH. Kent State defeated Ball State 76-73. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

No. 5 Forward/Center

Starter: Adonis De La Rosa

Illinois received a big commitment on Monday. Adonis De La Rose decided to transfer for his final season and play for the Illini. They are now getting a true big man who should be able to help this team.

De La Rosa started with St. John’s. He then went the junior college route followed by two seasons with Kent State. Now he is going to finish up at Illinois. The Illini needed a big man and they got him. I don’t think he can stay on the court for too long because Illinois is going to be running more, but I do think he will help the team in spurts.

Backup: Samba Kane

The Samba Kane story is still not finished. Most believe he will be eligible to play in the fall, but that is still to be determined.

I have Kane as the backup to De La Rosa if he can play in the fall. This would give the Illini a solid backup to be able to give De La Rosa some rest when he needs it. Kane is coming into the Illinois program as a three-star who was ranked as the No. 281 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 41 center in the nation.

Next: Potential Illini wide receiver depth chart in 2019

Backup: Giorgi Bezhanishvili

The final depth piece for the Illini is Giorgi Bezhanishvili. He could have possibly started just a few weeks ago, but that isn’t the case anymore. I think Bezhanishvili will be a solid backup for this program.

Bezhanishvili came into the Illinois program as a three-star recruit who was the No. 318 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 10 player in the state of New Jersey.

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