Illinois Basketball: Illini rising in Jeff Goodman’s preseason top 50
College basketball is right down the road, and the Illinois basketball program is poised for a good year.
Jeff Goodman of Stadium believes this is the case as well. He published his preseason top 50 programs in the nation. The usual suspects were near the top. Baylor takes the No. 1 spot with great recruiting and returning stars. Villanova, Gonzaga and Kansas were all up there in the top five too.
The first Big Ten team on the list was No. 4 Iowa. The Hawkeyes are returning a great team led by big man Luka Garza. He should be up there for national player of the year. Wisconsin is the next Big Ten team checking in at No. 6 in the nation.
Updated Goodman Top 50 following yesterday’s decisions: https://t.co/LpwLJFkKzY
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) August 4, 2020
You don’t have to travel too much further down on the list to find the next Big Ten team. Checking in at No. 8 in the nation according to Goodman is the Illinois Fighting Illini. Yes, that is right, we are preseason No. 8 in the nation in this poll.
Why did Illinois climb up into the top 10?
I think it is pretty simple, the Illini were a top 25 team last season and they were rising. The main core of the program is returning in Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn, both of whom will be contenders for national player of the year.
The “other” pieces mostly return as well. Seniors Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams cap off four of the five returning starters from the year prior. The only player we are losing out of the starting lineup is Andres Feliz. Brad Underwood had an answer for that, though.
Illinois has not one but two top 50 players entering the program from the class of 2020. Adam Miller is the guard who will be replacing Feliz in the starting lineup. I believe he will replace Feliz’s production. But, in case he doesn’t make up for all of the great numbers, Andre Curbelo is right there coming off the bench to help out.
Next. Illini lineup with Ayo and Kofi returning. dark
Underwood is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers at this point. He has built an Illinois team that is poised to make a run at the national title. As a fan, I get to sit back and watch the chess master at work.