Writing Illini
Fansided

Illinois Basketball: Grading the projected Illini lineup for 2020-21

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 05: Illinois head coach Brad Underwood during a college basketball game between the Purdue Boilermakers and Illinois Fighting Illini on January 5, 2020 at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 05: Illinois head coach Brad Underwood during a college basketball game between the Purdue Boilermakers and Illinois Fighting Illini on January 5, 2020 at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 6
Next
Illinois basketball
CHAMPAIGN, IL – MARCH 08: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini celebrates with fans following the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at State Farm Center on March 8, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

You know, if you think about it, the Illinois basketball team tips off in less than four months.

This is something Illini fans should be excited about. The team is going to be back in action. We can finally get to winning again after a pandemic ruined our title hopes the year before. Plus, we have some talented new additions to the team.

Yes, it is going to be sad to see the likes of Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn potentially depart the team. We have to think that they aren’t coming back until they do. We have to plan without them. Hopefully, with the two scholarships we have left for 2020, both of the talented players can fill the voids on this team.

It will be hard to replace Ayo and Kofi’s production from last season. Ayo averaged 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, while Kofi was the enforcer averaging 13.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. I would say it is darn near impossible to replace those two guys.

But Illinois has tried to find ways to patch up those holes. Brad Underwood and the coaching staff have brought in some good players who will help this team win some games. There are still some areas of concern, though. So, I decided to give each position grouping a grade.

Here is the graded projected lineup for the Illini in 2020-21.

Home/Illinois Basketball