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Illinois Basketball: Top 5 Illini point guards of the 2010s

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 11: Tracy Abrams #13 of the Illinois Fighting Illini dribbles the ball against Ibi Watson #23 of the Michigan Wolverines at State Farm Center on January 11, 2017 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 11: Tracy Abrams #13 of the Illinois Fighting Illini dribbles the ball against Ibi Watson #23 of the Michigan Wolverines at State Farm Center on January 11, 2017 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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PISCATAWAY, NJ – FEBRUARY 25: Te’Jon Lucas #3 of the Illinois Fighting Illini in action against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the first half of a game at Rutgers Athletic Center on February 25, 2018 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Illinois defeated Rutgers 75-62. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

There have been some talented point guards come through the Illinois basketball program.

During the 2010s, though, the talent seemed to have dropped a bit when it came to the floor general position. There was a period in there where Illinois couldn’t get a solid point guard in the rotation. Despite a point guard drought, the Illini did manage to have some pretty talented ball distributors come through in this 10-year stretch.

Here are the top five point guards of the 2010s for the Illinois basketball team.

5. Te’Jon Lucas

The No. 5 player on the list of the top five point guards of the 2010s is still in the college game but doesn’t currently play with the Illinois basketball program.

I loved when John Groce was able to land Te’Jon Lucas. Sadly, Lucas was the only player in his class of 2016 to come to Champaign. He was a sub-120 player in the 2016 class, but he gave a spark to the Illini when thrown into the fire.

Lucas spent two seasons with Illinois before transferring out to Milwaukee. He put up solid numbers in the two short years with the program. As a freshman, Lucas averaged 4.8 points, 3.1 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 1 steal per game.

The numbers for Lucas jumped slightly from year one to year two. He ended up averaging 5.7 points, 3.2 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game as a sophomore. There was a coaching change after his freshman season, though. I believe this was one of the reasons why Lucas decided to bolt after two years with the Illini.

While Illinois did miss the postseason in the time Lucas was with the program, he was not the reason they couldn’t get there. This kid was a spark plug and was a gem for Milwaukee the last two seasons. He is now finishing his career up with BYU.

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