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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) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – JANUARY 11: Illinois Fighting Illini forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili (15) reacts after a play during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 11, 2020, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL – JANUARY 11: Illinois Fighting Illini forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili (15) reacts after a play during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 11, 2020, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

No. 5 Center – C

  • Giorgi Bezhanishvili (JR)
  • Jermaine Hamlin (SO)
  • Brandon Lieb (FR)

As I mentioned in the last slide, Kofi Cockburn covered up a lot in the depth department for the Illini. His presence on the court negated any depth worries fans had. But Kofi isn’t here right now, and he may not come back at all.

That leaves Illinois looking for answers as the No. 5 spot. I want someone who has experience playing the position and could come in and do some good work. I think Giorgi Bezhanishvili would be the best option for the Illini right now. I have him projected as the starting No. 5 heading into the season.

Giorgi struggled last season with the emergence of Kofi. He only averaged 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game after having a great freshman season. But I expect Giorgi to improve on those numbers as he would be the main man in the middle.

The backup to Giorgi and someone who could end up stealing some of the playing time away is Jermaine Hamlin. Hamlin replaced Kofi last season when he needed a break or got into foul trouble. While Hamlin only averaged 0.9 points and 0.8 rebounds per game, he still did a solid job as a person to give Kofi a break. I see him starting the season off getting 5-10 minutes but that could increase too.

Illinois also landed another big man for the class of 2020 in Brandon Lieb. He is a 6-foot-11, 205-pound recruit who was rated as a three-star and ranked as the No. 468 player in the nation. I love Lieb’s shooting ability. He has a chance to be a matchup nightmare in the future.  But I think he redshirts this season.

Projected Illini dream team lineup for 2021-22. dark. Next

A grade of a C is fair for the No. 5 spot. Giorgi should be leading the way, but there isn’t a ton of stability in the paint. We all know the limitation of each player at the No. 5 spot. Hopefully, we can work past those this year.

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