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Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from Illini exhibition game

By Rees Woodcock

LINCOLN, NE - JANUARY 15: Illinois guard Trent Frazier (1) dribbles the ball down court against Nebraska during the second half of a college basketball game Monday, January 15th at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska defeated Illinois 64 to 63. (Photo by John Peterson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - JANUARY 15: Illinois guard Trent Frazier (1) dribbles the ball down court against Nebraska during the second half of a college basketball game Monday, January 15th at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska defeated Illinois 64 to 63. (Photo by John Peterson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – FEBRUARY 22: Illinois Fighting Illini guard Da’Monte Williams (20) holds up three fingers in celebration after a big play in the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on February 22, 2018, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. This game wasn’t about lineups

The starting lineup was released a few days ago so Illini fans could see who the projected starters were. Trent Frazier, Ayo Dosunmu, Aaron Jordan, Kippers Nichols and Girogi Bezhanisvili were the five players who started the game.

I quickly realized while the starting five is most likely the starting five to begin the season, that Brad Underwood just wanted to see what he had on the team during this scrimmage. The Illinois starters were fun to watch but there were substitutes early and often.

The first substitutes of the game were Andres Feliz and Da’Monte Williams. Feliz came in for Frazier, which was a surprise. I figured he would have come in for Dosunmu. Williams then came in for Bezhanishvili, which gave Illinois a really small lineup.

Following the first two substitutions, Illinois continued to bring in players throughout the game. Samba Kane entered the game for Jordan at one time. Underwood ended up playing players like his son, Tyler Underwood, just as much as Tevian Jones and more than Samba Kane.

The rotations clearly weren’t set yet, and this game was just a test for the Illini players to see who is going to be in the second rotation to start to the season. I like what I saw out of most of the players. It is good to see some of the young guys as well. I am excited to see who the main players are off the bench this year.

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