Illinois Basketball: 4 big questions for the Illini vs Maryland

3. What is Verdonk’s role on the team?

The Purdue loss brought up a lot of questions for the Illinois basketball program. Some players didn’t have a good game, and some players ended up performing well.

One of the players that came out of nowhere to shock Illini Nation was Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk. Yes, that guy who has been with the Illini for three years now and has career averages of 1.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.

On Monday, Brad Underwood dusted Verdonk off and threw him out on the court. Illinois didn’t know what to do because Kofi Cockburn got into a lot of foul trouble early in the game. We tried Omar Payne but he was struggling as well. The last resort was Verdonk. I can honestly say, despite being just 6-foot-8, Verdonk was the best big man on the court for the Illini against the Boilermakers.

I am not sure if I have been this impressed with a bench player coming into a game in my lifetime. I know Andre Curbelo had 20 points off the bench, but I would argue Verdonk had just as big of an impact, plus he isn’t expected to do anything.

Verdonk would finish the Purdue game with four points, four rebounds, two steals, and one assist in 20 minutes of action. He squared up on Zach Edey and Trevion Williams and held his own. My dad brought this up to me, and I completely agree, Verdonk has earned more minutes on the court.

On Friday night, I will be watching to see if Underwood trusts Verdonk enough to put him out there for more minutes than usual. The kid received 20 minutes and played well. I would like to see Verdonk on the court for around 10 minutes against Maryland to see what he can do. Give him chance.