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

By Rees Woodcock

AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 22: Brandon Paul #3 of the Illinois Fighting Illini celebrates during the game against the Colorado Buffaloes during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at The Frank Erwin Center on March 22, 2013 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 22: Brandon Paul #3 of the Illinois Fighting Illini celebrates during the game against the Colorado Buffaloes during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at The Frank Erwin Center on March 22, 2013 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /
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Illinois basketball
CHAMPAIGN, IL – DECEMBER 30: Kendrick Nunn #25 of the Illinois Fighting Illini brings the ball up court during the game against the Michigan Wolverines at State Farm Center on December 30, 2015 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

There have been some pretty big scorers for the Illinois basketball team during the 2010s.

I broke down the list of the top five point guards of the 2010s yesterday, and that list seemed to go over like a lead balloon. If you liked that list, you should enjoy this list of Illini players.

The shooting guard list consists of players who I see as being the best collection of shooters in that particular decade. Before you read it, yes, Malcolm Hill is not on this list. I look at Hill as more of a small forward-wing type of player. He isn’t going to be on this list. He will be on the next one.

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

5. Kendrick Nunn

To start off the top shooting guards of the 2010s, I am going with a player who could have done some special things if he would have finished his career with the Illini. Kendrick Nunn was electric and would have been higher on this list if it wasn’t for some things that happened off the court.

Nunn entered the Illinois basketball program as one of the best players in the 2013 class. He was a top 60 recruit and a great snag for the Illini. He was able to show his true potential early on in his Illinois career as well.

In his three years with the Illini, Nunn averaged 10.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He also shot a solid 37.9-percent from three-point range. These numbers were greatly boosted by a sensational junior year that saw Nunn average 15.5 points, 5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 steals per contest.

I think the path of the Illinois basketball program would have been much different if Nunn finished out his final year with the Illini. He would go on to play for Oakland for a season and put up 25.9 points per game. He is now hooping it up for the Miami Heat in the NBA.

Nunn had all of the talent in the world. His ability to shoot the ball and drive to the hoop was really his two biggest assets as a player. This kid would likely have been top three on this list if he would have finished out at Illinois.

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