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Illinois Basketball: Projected Illini starting lineup with Jermaine Hamlin

By Rees Woodcock

MADISON, WISCONSIN - FEBRUARY 18: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini reacts in the first half against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Kohl Center on February 18, 2019 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MADISON, WISCONSIN - FEBRUARY 18: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini reacts in the first half against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Kohl Center on February 18, 2019 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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Illinois basketball
CHAMPAIGN, IL – DECEMBER 08: Giorgi Bezhanishvili (GEO)(15) forward University of Illinois Fighting Illini sets a pick for Ayo Dosunmu (11) guard University of Illinois Fighting Illini against the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) Runnin Rebels, December 8, 2018, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by David Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

No. 1 Guard

Starter: Ayo Dosunmu

The No. 1 guard on the team is going to continue being Ayo Dosunmu. He is the floor general for the Orange and Blue and will continue filling that role until he leaves the program.

Ayo had a great freshman campaign with the Illini. He ended the season averaging 13.8 points, 4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals per contest. Those are impressive numbers for a senior let alone a true freshman. I look for those numbers to be similar if not better this season.

The overseas trip was a success for Ayo. The team went 3-1, and he was a star. An example of his greatness was in his final game against the Netherlands; Ayo dropped 27 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in just 31 minutes of action. This kid is poised to have another great season.

Backup: Andres Feliz

I believe the main backup for Ayo is still going to be Andres Feliz. He had a great first year with the Illini after transferring into the program last season. He finished the year averaging 8.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1 steal per game.

It would have been nice to see Feliz on the overseas trip, but there were some issues with the passport so he couldn’t make it. Despite those issues, I see nothing stopping Feliz from playing a lot of minutes this upcoming season as Ayo’s primary backup.

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