Illinois Basketball: Illini coaches have a plan for Austin Hutcherson

On Sunday, the Writing Illini wrote about Austin Hutcherson possibly joining the Illinois basketball program as a transfer.

Reports were that Hutcherson was looking at Illinois as a destination to play his final two years of basketball. On Monday, Derek Piper of 247Sports was able to confirm this information and went more in-depth about the potential of Hutcherson picking the Illini and the discussions he has had with the Illini coaching staff.

In the article, Piper mentions that Hutcherson will take one of his official visits to Illinois this Thursday, August 1. Hutcherson also mentions to Piper how Brad Underwood wanted to use the talented transfer. Underwood is looking at Hutcherson as a possible replacement for Ayo Dosunmu when he leaves the program. Mainly, he is looking at him as a No. 1 or No. 2 guard on the team.

This comes to me as a bit of a surprise. I see Hutcherson more like a No. 3, but if Underwood thinks he would be a good, long, No. 1 or No. 2 then that is exciting. One thing is for sure. This kid can shoot the ball.

Hutcherson is a 6-foot-6 guard who averaged 20 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game with Wesleyan University at the DIII level. His shooting ability is what sets this kid apart. He was hitting his shots from the field at a clip of 44.4-percent and his three-point shots at 39.2-percent.  He would be a killer in the Big Ten. How would the Illini lineup look with him on it, though?

I think both Ayo and Andres Feliz are both gone. That means Trent Frazier will probably take over the No. 1 guard duties come 2020. But that also depends on who else we can snag from the class of 2020. The No. 2 guard would then be Hutcherson. I would slot Tevian Jones at the No. 3, Giorgi Bezhanishvili at the No. 4 and Kofi Cockburn at the No. 5.

That is a rough outline of how things could look for the Illini. There are a lot of talented guards for the class of 2020 keeping an eye on the Orange and Blue, though. If Adam Miller or DJ Steward picks Illinois, this lineup would obviously change.

It is exciting to see the mindset of the Illini coaching staff. They have a plan for Hutcherson. It would be great if we could get a shooter like him into the program.