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Illinois Basketball: Illini guards will lead the team to the ultimate goal

By Rees Woodcock

PISCATAWAY, NJ - FEBRUARY 25: Illinois Fighting Illini guard Trent Frazier (1) during the first half of the College Basketball Game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on February 25, 2018, at the Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PISCATAWAY, NJ - FEBRUARY 25: Illinois Fighting Illini guard Trent Frazier (1) during the first half of the College Basketball Game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on February 25, 2018, at the Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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It has been a roller coaster ride with the incoming Illinois basketball recruiting class.

At times, the class seemed to have been amazing. They snagged a few top 100 guys and the likelihood of nabbing a talented big man seemed inevitable. But, time went on and Brad Underwood and the coaching staff missed on some big-time big men.

These misses started to trend the class downward. I wasn’t sure how the class would finish out, but I always had confidence in what Underwood could do. That confidence paid off as the Illini finished with one of the best classes in recent memory. They were also able to wrangle in a few big men who would not only help the team down the road but would also make an immediate impact.

There is no question the class of 2018 is going to be the foundation for whatever this program can manage to do in the future. Most likely, I think this team is going to go dancing, potentially starting in March 2019. While I think the big men will be important pieces to this team, I really believe the guards will carry us as far as they can. This team goes as the guards go.

Illinois has the best group of guards on the team right now than I have seen in a long time. There were some pretty good guards who came into the program in the last decade, but the group for this upcoming season has a chance to do something special.

The Illinois basketball Twitter account continues to post videos of the Illini practicing. I don’t make my guard judgment off these clips, but they do exactly what they are supposed to do. They get me pumped for the season and the potential of how good these guards can be.

There was one clip that stood out to me. Ayo Dosunmu drives to the hoop from the corner. When he gets in the lane, he does a sweet no-look pass to Trent Frazier in the opposite corner. Frazier receives the ball and then drives baseline towards the hoop. Meanwhile, Tevian Jones is driving to the hoop from the top of the key, and Frazier finds him for a driving dunk.

This clip stands out because I am not used to some of the things that happened in it. There was tremendous ball movement. One player wasn’t just standing and pounding the rock. At least three players touched the ball before scoring. I also liked the player movement. Moving without the ball is important for getting open scoring looks. The final part was the dunk. Illinois needs more excitement and having players come rolling down the lane for dunks is fun to watch.

Dosunmu and Frazier are the two big guards on this Illini team and they orchestrated that beautiful play seen in the clip. I look for these two to not only score at-will this upcoming season but to also generate offense for their teammates. They have the unique ability to score, distribute and create. That is what makes them such special players.

The creation by Dosunmu and Frazier will then enable the other guards to perform the way they are meant to perform. Alan Griffin will be able to get open shots that he can knock down. Jones will continue to get those open driving dunks to the hoop. Da’Monte Williams will be able to slash more to the hoop as well. He will be an athletic nightmare to opponents because he will find open space. Aaron Jordan will be hitting open three-pointers as his defender collapses on double-teams. And when Frazier gets tired, Andres Feliz will come in and the Illini really won’t miss a beat.

Next: Projected Illini starting lineup with Adonis De La Rosa

Illinois is guard-heavy this upcoming season. These guards – led by Frazier and Dosunmu – will lead the way to the ultimate goal of making the NCAA tournament this upcoming season. It is exciting having so much quality depth on this team for once. Let’s just sit back and watch them do work.

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