Illinois Basketball: Alfonso Plummer is off to a historic start for the Illini

There have been some true legends suit up for the Illinois basketball program, and Alfonso Plummer is dabbling in that rarified air.

Most would expect the Illini to take a step back for the 2021-22 campaign after losing Ayo Dosunmu to the NBA Draft. I mean, Ayo was a legend in his own right, averaging just north of 20 points per game in his final season with the Orange and Blue. He is now with the Chicago Bulls getting 17.2 minutes each night.

Losing that type of talent should hinder a team. It should make a team substantially worse, and in some areas, it may, but one area that Illinois has stayed strong in is the scoring department.

The main reason why the Illini were one of the best teams in the nation last season was the fact they averaged 80.5 points per game. A big question I had for the Illinois basketball team this offseason had to do with who was going to replace the scoring production that departed in Ayo, Adam Miller, and Giorgi Bezhanishvili. Thankfully, I believe I have received that answer just nine games into the season.

Alfonso Plummer is putting up some special numbers for the Illinois basketball team.

Illinois was able to land Utah transfer, Alfonso Plummer, this offseason. The addition of a solid three-point shooter was exciting, but his emergence as a prime-time player is what has helped elevate the Illini into a serious contender this season.

Plummer is now averaging 15.8 points per game on 47.3% shooting from the field and 43.1% shooting from three-point range. His ability to be consistent from the three-point arc has given Illinois stability when it comes to the scoring department.

With his 21-point performance against Iowa on Monday night, Plummer now has five straight 20+ point performances.

As I go back through the history of Illinois basketball, it is hard to find players who have actually had five-straight 20+ point performances. It actually hasn’t happened since the 2002-03 campaign when Brian Cook had six-straight games with at least 20 points.

Just let that sink in for a moment. Nine games into his Illinois career, Plummer has five-straight games with at least 20 points, which is something Kofi Cockburn, Ayo Dosunmu, Brandon Paul, Dee Brown, Deron Williams, and Luther Head have not accomplished.

If Plummer has another 20-point game on Saturday against No. 11 Arizona, he will move to No. 4 all-time in consecutive 20-point games. Plummer would be tied with Cook and Nick Anderson at six. He would only be behind Kendall Gill (10), Ken Norman (11), and Nick Weatherspoon (13). That is some good company.

Plummer is etching his name on more than one list, though. He dropped seven three-pointers against Kansas State, which puts him No. 5 on the Illinois single-game three-point field goals list. The leader is at eight three-pointers in a game, so that record is in danger.

With the three-point shooting pace Plummer is on, he is projected to make 96 three-pointers in the regular season, which would put him No. 3 all-time in season three-pointers made. If Plummer finishes with his current 43.1% three-point percentage, then he would land at No. 8 on the Illinois single-season three-point percentage list.

Illinois didn’t just land a good player from Utah. We landed someone who has already inked his name in the Illinois record book. Plummer is not even close to being finished either. He still has 22 more regular season games to put up some massive numbers. Let’s enjoy what we have while we have it. Plummer is a special player for this program.