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Illinois Basketball: Projected Illini lineup if DJ Carton was added

By Rees Woodcock

COLUMBUS, OHIO - NOVEMBER 22: D.J. Carton #3 of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts after getting fouled in the game against the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons during the first half at Value City Arena on November 22, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OHIO - NOVEMBER 22: D.J. Carton #3 of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts after getting fouled in the game against the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons during the first half at Value City Arena on November 22, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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Illinois basketball
PISCATAWAY, NJ – FEBRUARY 15: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini reacts to a play during the second half of a college basketball game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Rutgers Athletic Center on February 15, 2020 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Rutgers defeated Illinois 72-57. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

The Illinois basketball team is going to lose a lot of talent over the next couple of seasons.

It wouldn’t shock me to see Ayo Dosunmu depart the program this year. That would leave us short at guard. Kofi Cockburn will eventually follow suit. I don’t think he is gone this year, but he is likely to depart after his sophomore campaign. That leaves the 2021-2022 team with some question marks, to say the least.

But what I have noticed this offseason is Illinois’ pursuit of some big-time transfers. There are transfers nationwide right now looking for a soft landing spot. It seems like every day that a new transfer is popping up on Twitter. A report about who is calling that transfer soon pops up from recruiting experts. The Illini are usually one of the first teams to give a transfer a ring.

With that being said, one of the players that piqued my interest was DJ Carton. He was a big-time recruit from the class of 2019 who decided to head to Ohio State. But that situation didn’t work out. So, he is now looking for a new home. If Illinois could snag this talented transfer, the future of this program would be looking even better.

Here is the projected Illini lineup if DJ Carton was added.

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