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Illinois Basketball: Projected Illini lineup for the 2023 NCAA tournament

By Rees Woodcock

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - JANUARY 21: Coleman Hawkins #33 of the Illinois Fighting Illini dribbles by Eric Ayala #5 of the Maryland Terrapins in the first half during a college basketball game against the Maryland Terrapins at the XFinity Center on January 21, 2022 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - JANUARY 21: Coleman Hawkins #33 of the Illinois Fighting Illini dribbles by Eric Ayala #5 of the Maryland Terrapins in the first half during a college basketball game against the Maryland Terrapins at the XFinity Center on January 21, 2022 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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Illinois basketball
Illinois’ Luke Goode (10) and the Illini bench celebrate a late 3-pointer during the second half of the Indiana versus Illinois men’s basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022.Iu Il Bb 2h Goode Celebrates /

No. 3 Guard

Starter: Luke Goode (4-star)

I am an Illinois fan who wants to see the program get to and win the national title this season. But I am also extremely excited to get to next season. I want to see what some of the talent we have can do on the basketball court. Luke Goode is one of those talented players.

Goode gets a handful of minutes each game, but he isn’t playing as much as he could because of the amount of experience Illinois has on the team this season. He has shown the ability to knock down the three-point shot, and his big body enables him to be strong on defense. Goode’s hustle is insane as well. I see Goode as the starting No. 3 next season. He has the size to match up against some forwards, but he is also nimble enough to guard guards.

Backup: Scholarship 1

According to this projected lineup, Illinois has a chance to have one scholarship open. We have 12 scholarships accounted for, so there is room to add a player to the roster.

I think there are two options for the final scholarship. The first option is to snag a point guard and then shift Jayden Epps to the backup No. 2 guard and Sencire Harris to the backup No. 3 guard. The other option would be to add a No. 3 guard/forward to the mix. There are very few options still left on the board, but that is what I want to happen with the final scholarship.

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