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Illinois Basketball: 4 big questions for the Illini against Michigan State

By Rees Woodcock

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - JANUARY 21: Trent Frazier #1 of the Illinois Fighting Illini passes the ball to Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk #13 of the Illinois Fighting Illini in the first half during a college basketball game at the XFinity Center on January 21, 2022 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - JANUARY 21: Trent Frazier #1 of the Illinois Fighting Illini passes the ball to Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk #13 of the Illinois Fighting Illini in the first half during a college basketball game at the XFinity Center on January 21, 2022 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – JANUARY 17: Trevion Williams #50 of the Purdue Boilermakers saves the ball during the second half as Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk #13 of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks on at State Farm Center on January 17, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL – JANUARY 17: Trevion Williams #50 of the Purdue Boilermakers saves the ball during the second half as Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk #13 of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks on at State Farm Center on January 17, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

2. What are we going to do in the paint?

As mentioned in the previous slide, Kofi Cockburn missed the Maryland game with a concussion. The loss of Kofi resulted in Illinois dropping the game by double-digit points.

With no news on the big man’s health, there is a possibility that Kofi misses the matchup between Illinois and No. 14 Michigan State. This would not be good for the Orange and Blue.

On Tuesday, I am going to be watching to see what Brad Underwood is going to do about the paint presence for the Illini. Who is he going to play and what type of minutes distribution will Underwood deploy?

Against Maryland, Underwood wanted to play the hot hand in Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk. Verdonk played well against Purdue, so he earned a shot to start with Kofi on the mend.

Verdonk finished the game against the Terrapins with six points, one rebound, one assist, and one steal in 24 minutes of action. Illinois has two other big man options to go along with Verdonk.

Omar Payne was brought in to be the main backup to Kofi this season. He received 13 minutes against Maryland and finished with four points, one rebound, and one block.

Another option for Underwood is to go more athletic with Coleman Hawkins. He used to be a starter for the Illini but only received 11 minutes against the Terrapins. Hawkins would finish with five points, two rebounds, and two turnovers in the game.

I am curious to see what Underwood is going to do about the No. 5 spot against the Spartans. I think we should probably go with Hawkins because he is more athletic and has more length. He is also a better scorer of the basketball. The rotation should be Hawkins, Verdonk, and then Payne.

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