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Illinois Basketball: Outlook at shooting guard for the Illini

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 18: Trent Frazier #1 of the Illinois Fighting Illini shoots the ball against Miller Kopp #10 of the Northwestern Wildcats at State Farm Center on January 18, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 18: Trent Frazier #1 of the Illinois Fighting Illini shoots the ball against Miller Kopp #10 of the Northwestern Wildcats at State Farm Center on January 18, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 10: Adam Miller drives to the basket during the Nike Academy Showcase Game on August 10, 2019 at the Los Angeles Southwest College in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Future

The future at the shooting guard role is looking as bright as ever. While the current Illini No. 2 guard situation is looking great, I believe the future of the position won’t let the Illinois fanbase down either.

Trent Frazier will depart after the upcoming season, which will leave a hole in the starting role at shooting guard. But I believe the position will look completely different moving forward.

I don’t have Austin Hutcherson filling in for Frazier during his senior year in 2021-22. The player who should be filling in for Frazier is Adam Miller.

Miller, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard who is entering his freshman season in 2020, should have enough experience and development to take the reins of the program as a sophomore. I would slide him over to the starting No. 2 guard spot in 2021-22 and as long as he is with the program. His development as a freshman will only help the Illini in the future.

For the backup spot at shooting guard, I currently don’t have anyone filling in this role right now. But Illinois has three scholarships left on the board, and they should be able to land a couple of players who will fill out the roster. With that being said, I believe the eventual backup at the No. 2 spot will be Luke Goode.

Goode, a 6-foot-5, 175-pound sharpshooting guard, is the lone commitment so far for the class of 2021. Built like an NBA knockdown shooter already, Goode has the chance to do some special things for the Illini.

Coming in as a freshman and spelling minutes for someone like Miller is going to be extremely important for the success of the Illinois basketball program. I don’t see him getting a ton of minutes, but Goode’s commitment is huge for the future of the team as well.

I fully expect Miller to depart after his sophomore season, which would leave Illinois looking for another starting No. 2 guard. Goode would then move up and start for the Illini as a sophomore. The shooting guard role seems to be set for the foreseeable future.

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