3. Total rebounds per game
Let’s call it like it is; Illinois basketball has been pretty bad at rebounding the ball for much of the last decade. We haven’t had a big man and rebounding guards to be able to get the ball back to the team.
The rebounding ability of the Illini changed this past season, though. It is amazing what more rebounds can do to a team that isn’t that far off from winning a lot of games. Just two seasons ago, Illinois was only pulling down 33 rebounds per game. That is a bad number and was toward the bottom of the nation.
This past season was different. The Illini were crashing the boards every night. Defensive rebounds improved by nearly four rebounds per game. Offensive rebounds saw an improvement of two rebounds per game. All of this extra rebounding came out to the Illini averaging 39.4 rebounds per game this season. That is 6.3 rebounds per game boost from the year prior.
Why was there such a big jump in the rebounding department? The easy answer is Kofi Cockburn. The seven-foot beast of a human being dominated on the glass. He was a huge part of the Illini when it came to rebounding. But he wasn’t the only one who was crashing the boards.
Alan Griffin was sensational at rebounding the ball as well. He came off the bench and was everywhere on the court and finished fourth on the team in rebounds. As a unit, the Illini guards really dedicated themselves to getting more rebounds this season. More rebounds equal more chances to score.