Illinois Basketball: Top storylines for the Illini during the 2020-21 season

4. Does Underwood go to the fiery freshman or savvy veteran in crunch time?

Trent Frazier or Andre Curbelo? This is the question that I believe Brad Underwood will have to answer consistently down the stretch in big games.

During the games that Ayo Dosunmu is keyed in on, I think it will be Curbelo down the stretch because of his ability to make plays for others and collapse defenses. When Ayo is being Ayo and taking over down the stretch like we are used to, I think it will be Frazier because of his ability to stretch out a defense and catch fire from deep.

It is Frazier’s last ride as an Illini, so we can only hope for more consistency and focus, but Curbelo is coming in with mighty expectations and an unprecedented ability to collapse a defense on this roster. We saw Coach Underwood favor Feliz in crunch time a ton last year, and while Curbelo has much less experience at this level, he should bring a ton of the same energy and production.

I actually really like the idea of these two on the court together, but with Ayo, Adam Miller, Da’Monte Williams and Kofi  Cockburn already on the court, there might just be one spot left in crunch time.

5. Can Adam Miller secure enough minutes to potentially be a one-and-done?

The whole nation is eager to watch Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn this season, but there is no one I am more excited to watch than Adam Miller.

The athletic southpaw from Morgan Park can catch fire from deep and slash with power as well as fluidity to put up lofty scoring numbers. A deadly first step off the bounce can collapse defenses because of how talented of a deep shooter Miller is.

Efficiency and opportunity are the two biggest areas that I will be watching for this season. Miller needs to be a shot-maker early and often. He will not be able to take many of the risks defensively that he did at the high school level. Playing tough and technical defense will be a key to more playing time.

Miller was one of the most instinctual defenders I evaluated in the entire class of 2020, but he will have to learn how to take smart risks while playing in the top league in NCAA basketball in the Big Ten.

I will set a benchmark for Miller so that we can reflect on this down the line. If Miller can eclipse 22 minutes per game while knocking down 36-percent of his three-point shots, he will be an NBA player a year from now.