Illinois Basketball: Rothstein 45 rankings have Illini outside top 25

This offseason for the Illinois basketball program is going to be one wild ride for the entire fanbase.

The Illini roster has changed drastically since the end of the 2021-22 campaign. With that change comes speculation about where the Orange and Blue will be ranked to start the upcoming season.

Earlier Tuesday morning, ESPN released their way-too-early top 25 and had Illinois as the No. 17 team in the country. The one caveat to that ranking was the decision that is going to be made in the coming days, weeks, or months by Kofi Cockburn. If he returns, the Illini are projected at No. 17. If he departs, we drop outside of the top 25.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports and College Hoops Today sees Illinois as a program not just outside of the top 25, but not even in the top 30. In his Rothstein 45 rankings for next season, Rothstein has Illinois all the way down at No. 35.

Despite Rothstein saying in the third paragraph of his article, “no players who are projected to be drafted later than the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft will be forecasted as departures until they verbalize those plans publicly,” he still has Kofi left off of the Illini roster.

Confidence in Illinois basketball depends on Kofi Cockburn.

As far as I can tell, Kofi isn’t projected to be drafted in the upcoming 2022 NBA Draft. I can’t find anywhere where he has verbalized that he was not going to come back to Illinois officially either. But, at the end of the day, I think Rothstein is right because I don’t believe Kofi is coming back.

Having Illinois all the way down at No. 35 might be a little harsh, though. People are acting like the Illini will have nothing on the roster for the 2022-23 campaign. In reality, the Illini roster is loaded.

Rothstein’s starting five for Illinois includes No. 1 RJ Melendez, No. 2 Austin Hutcherson, No. 3 Luke Goode, No. 4 Coleman Hawkins, and No. 5 Dain Dainja. I have some issues with this starting five but, at this point, it is all speculation.

I don’t think you can confidently put Hutcherson in the starting five. He’s dealt with injuries since coming to Illinois, and he only played in four games this past season. There could be a point in the year where he does get the starting nod, but to have him starting right now is a bit premature.

It is interesting that Rothstein puts Melendez at the traditional point guard role. He is a smart player and a good distributor, but I think you have to go with someone like incoming freshman Jayden Epps in that spot.

Having Dainja at the starting No. 5 spot wouldn’t surprise me one bit. I probably won’t have him as the starting No. 5 as my projected lineups progress, but there is a chance that is where he starts the season.

If you measure out Rothstein’s projected lineup, Illinois’ height would be No. 1 6-foot-7, No. 2 6-foot-6, No. 3 6-foot-7, No. 4 6-foot-10, No. 5 6-foot-9. That is an incredibly tall lineup for any team in the country to put on the court. But, as I said earlier, it is all speculation at this point.