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Illinois Basketball: Good, bad and ugly scenarios for the Illini offseason

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - NOVEMBER 18: Illinois head coach Brad Underwood speaks with his team during a time out in a huddle during a college basketball game between the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Illinois Fighting Illini on November 18, 2018 at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - NOVEMBER 18: Illinois head coach Brad Underwood speaks with his team during a time out in a huddle during a college basketball game between the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Illinois Fighting Illini on November 18, 2018 at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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COLLEGE PARK, MD – DECEMBER 07: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini reacts to a play during the second half of the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on December 7, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

Ugly scenario

There is always the possibility this offseason for the Illini could go off the rails. Ayo Dosunmu has already declared for the NBA Draft, and I think he is staying in.

Kofi Cockburn declared for the NBA Draft before Ayo. While I think Kofi is coming back to the program, there is always a chance an NBA scout says something to him and he decides to stay in the draft. That means we would lose our big-time freshman big man after one season.

Illinois wouldn’t have an option to replace Kofi this upcoming season. I like what we have coming in with Coleman Hawkins, but center isn’t his traditional position. I think Giorgi Bezhanishvili would end up taking over at the No. 5 spot.

Another blow to the team would be losing out to Gonzaga, LSU, or Iowa State for Chaundee Brown. He is a top transfer right now, and Illinois could really use him for the 2021-22 campaign. Gonzaga seems like a strong destination for transfers. Not getting him would kill the depth moving forward.

That means Illinois would ride into the 2020-21 campaign with 10 scholarship players on the roster. We wouldn’t have any size at the No. 5 spot. I could see games being lost down low. I like our starters at the No. 1-4 but there isn’t much in the way of depth. That is an issue.

Next. Illini making Keith Cooper Jr. a high priority. dark

This would be the worst-case scenario for the Orange and Blue. If we can’t add depth to the roster moving forward, and we lose our future All-American center, that would absolutely kill us.

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