Illinois Basketball: 4 big questions for the Illini vs Jackson State

2. What will the rotations be?

Going into the Jackson State game, I am curious to see what the second rotation is going to look like.

What I mean by second rotation is who is first off the bench? Who is bringing the ball up the court when Andre Curbelo is resting? Who is coming in as the backup big man, which would normally be the third-tier big man? And who can give Illinois that spark off the bench?

I feel like I can take an educated guess at most of these, but Tuesday night will give me a more concrete answer.

When Curbelo needs a rest, I believe Trent Frazier will shift over from his No. 2 guard spot and take over the main ball-handling duties. He did this in the preseason, and he has pretty good handles.

I assume Omar Payne is going to be the backup to Coleman Hawkins at the No. 5 spot. Payne would give this Illini crew a defensive presence when needed. I am comfortable with this one-two punch.

There are a couple of options of who could give Illinois a spark off the bench. I am curious to see who is the guy that Brad Underwood trusts.

I think the guy Underwood trusts the most will be one of the first players off the bench as well. We need someone to play the role that Alan Griffin played a couple of seasons ago. We need that sparkplug.

Keep an eye on the rotations against Jackson State. It will be interesting to see who gels with who early on in the season.