3. We are not deep…yet
In the previous slide, I talked about how Adam Miller is struggling greatly, especially over the past five games. To remedy his struggles, Illinois needs depth to replace him in times of need.
But the Illini aren’t the deepest team in the world right now. Andre Curbelo is a good replacement for Miller. Curbelo is a spark plug off the bench who has been more efficient with the ball lately, but he was in foul trouble against Rutgers and even fouled out.
The next guard option off the bench would be Jacob Grandison. I was expecting more out of Grandison to start the season, but he seems not quite up to speed just yet. It is a big transition from the Patriot League to the Big Ten.
Beyond those two, Illinois doesn’t have much off the bench right now in the form of a guard. But we will get a little deeper as time goes on. Austin Hutcherson will eventually be back and healthy for this program. The sharpshooting guard from Wesleyan University is out with an injury, but I see him returning and being one of the first couple of players off the bench.
Illinois has some size coming off the bench right now in Giorgi Bezhanishvili. He has been playing well lately and is an asset to this team. True freshman Coleman Hawkins has seen some action as well. The depth in the size department is going to get stronger too.
The Illini will eventually get Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk back. Verdonk is a talented forward who is extremely athletic and can rebound. His presence off the bench will pay dividends once he returns to the rotation.
Depth has hurt Illinois here in the early season, but that will soon be fixed. We have some help coming. Hopefully, we can continue winning games while we wait for the role players to get healthy.