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Illinois Basketball: 3 big remaining questions for the Illini

By Rees Woodcock

COLLEGE PARK, MD - DECEMBER 07: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini reacts during the first 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)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - DECEMBER 07: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini reacts during the first 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) /
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PISCATAWAY, NJ – FEBRUARY 15: Alan Griffin #0 of the Illinois Fighting Illini in action against Ron Harper Jr. #24 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during in a college basketball game at Rutgers Athletic Center on February 15, 2020 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PISCATAWAY, NJ – FEBRUARY 15: Alan Griffin #0 of the Illinois Fighting Illini in action against Ron Harper Jr. #24 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during in a college basketball game at Rutgers Athletic Center on February 15, 2020 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

2. How are we going to replace production?

In the last slide, I mentioned the importance of the Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn decision. These two will change how the team will look for the 2020-21 season. But those two aren’t the only departures that will hurt the program.

Let’s go worst-case scenario and say Ayo and Kofi head to the NBA. That means Illinois would lose the No. 1 (Ayo), No. 3 (Kofi), No. 4 (Andres Feliz) and No. 7 (Alan Griffin) players in minutes played from last season. But that isn’t the most important statistical category that would take a hit.

Illinois would lose a ton of their scoring production. The Illini’s No. 1 (Ayo), No. 2 (Kofi), No. 3 (Feliz), No. 5 (Griffin) and No. 7 (Kipper Nichols) scorers would all have departed the program. Those five players consisted of 73.7-percent of the team’s point production last season.

Brad Underwood will need an answer to this question quickly. I think he might have some type of answer with eligible players and newcomers, though.

Illinois had both Jacob Grandison and Austin Hutcherson transfer into the program before last season. They had to sit out a year, but they will be eligible, as juniors, to suit up this season. They can help score the ball, among other things.

I think the Illini will have to look to their class of 2020 for answers too. Adam Miller is going to have to grow up fast, and I think he has it in him. If Ayo departs the program, Miller is going to be looked to as the main scoring threat.

People might be sleeping on Andre Curbelo. I think he can do what Feliz did for the Illini but even better. Curbelo has a chance to be one of the best freshmen in the country.

Illinois is losing a lot of production and even more could be gone if Ayo and Kofi depart. We do have a decent amount of talent coming in, though. Let’s see how Underwood uses the newcomers to replace production.

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