3. Austin Hutcherson
The final player I am looking at to increase Illinois’ distance shooting is Austin Hutcherson.
Hutcherson has been with the team going on two years now but is finally eligible to play after transferring in. He spent his first two seasons with Wesleyan University where he started 51 out of the 54 games he played during his career. He then decided to take his talents to the next level.
Illinois was able to land the talented sharpshooter. Despite having to sit out last season, Hutcherson is poised to make an impact on the Illini this year. I believe he can be a remedy to Illinois’ three-point shooting woes.
In his final season with Wesleyan, Hutcherson shot 6.6 three-point shots per game and made them at a clip of 39.2-percent. That many three-point shots would have led the Illini last year, and his three-point percentage would have only been second to Alan Griffin. If he can bring some of that to the Illini, then things behind the arc would surely improve.
Illinois was one of the worst teams in the nation last year when it came to three-point shooting. These three players will be tasked with improving Illinois’ shooting from behind the three-point arc. If they can manage to accomplish this goal, then the Illini would be the most dynamic team in the country.