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Illinois Basketball: Projected Illini lineup with the addition of Jayden Epps

By Rees Woodcock

Feb 7, 2020; Champaign, Illinois, USA; The national anthem is preformed prior to the first half before a game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Maryland Terrapins at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 7, 2020; Champaign, Illinois, USA; The national anthem is preformed prior to the first half before a game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Maryland Terrapins at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /
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St. John’s Northwestern Academies guard Brandin Podziemski throws down a dunk to seal a win over Oak Creek.Rs5a7336
St. John’s Northwestern Academies guard Brandin Podziemski throws down a dunk to seal a win over Oak Creek.Rs5a7336 /

No. 2 Guard

Starter: Brandin Podziemski (4-star)

Illinois fans will be introduced to Brandin Podziemski this upcoming winter. The Wisconsin Mr. Basketball is bringing a lot of hype with him to Champaign, and I believe he has it in him to live up to that hype. I am not sure Illinois has seen this type of scorer in a long time.

Podziemski just finished up his senior year at St. John’s Northwestern up in Wisconsin, and he put up some incredible numbers. He averaged 35 points, 10.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 4.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per contest. Behind Podziemski’s leadership, his high school team would go 22-7 that season and get to the Elite 8 of the state championship. Now that he is coming to Illinois, Podziemski should see solid playing time this upcoming season and then transition into the starting No. 2 guard by his sophomore year.

Backup: Sencire Harris (4-star)

The 2022 class for the Illini is going to get a lot of playing time as freshmen. One of the big names coming from this class is Sencire Harris out of St. Vincent-St. Mary. Harris decided to pick Illinois just about two weeks ago.

I am excited to see what Harris can bring to the Illinois basketball program. He is a dynamic scorer, but his ability to do everything on the court is what is most intriguing. He has some elements of Ayo Dosunum to his game, but I think he is more athletic. Harris should step into a primary backup role as a freshman and see somewhere in the ballpark of 10-15 minutes per game.

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