Illinois Basketball: Patience will be key early on for Illini fans

Illinois basketball is in a period of transition right now, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The departures from the program are undoubtedly going to hurt the Illini. Losing Trent Frazier, Alfonso Plummer, Kofi Cockburn, etc. will have an impact on the team. They have all played a vital role in the success of the program over the past few seasons.

All of the production that is departing leaves Illinois with a very inexperienced lineup. On Thursday, I posted what I believe are the returning players to the Illini lineup for next season. Next to each player’s name, I put how many total games they have played at the DI level.

This list didn’t make some people happy for one reason or another. Some people argued that since I put Austin Hutcherson’s name on the list, I need to include Jacob Grandison because they are “in the same boat”.

That isn’t true at all, though. Grandison had a healthy season and played 30 games and averaged 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. Hutcherson played three games and dealt with another injury. That isn’t the same boat. Just because they both declared doesn’t mean both have to come back or both are leaving. I project Grandison being done and Hutcherson playing one more season with the Illini.

I also got the pushback from the tweet about players and the number of games they have played like I was making some sort of statement that Illinois was going to be bad this upcoming season. I literally just posted facts about how many games each player has played at the DI level. Calm down.

The Illinois basketball team is going to look completely different by January 2023.

As of me typing this article, Coleman Hawkins is projected to be the most experienced player for the Illini heading into the 2022-23 campaign. He has played in 58 games at the DI level, and the next highest is Luke Goode, who has played in 28 games. The list rounds out with RJ Melendez (22 games), Brandon Lieb (15), Hutcherson (4), and Dain Dainja (3).

What this list screams to me is inexperience, and that is okay. But as we enter the upcoming season, I am going to urge all Illinois basketball fans to Google the definition of one word.

Patience.

Just because we have inexperience heading into the upcoming season doesn’t mean we are going to be a bad team. It just may take a couple of months to find our groove and gel with one another.

Illinois has a five-star point guard in Skyy Clark coming in. He joins three other four-star recruits for the 2022 class. We have seen what Hawkins and Melendez can do on the court with their length and scoring ability. Goode is a sharpshooter from deep. This team has a ton of talent – I could argue more talent than last season – but you have to give them time. You have to exercise patience.

In November and December, the Illini could easily struggle. They haven’t played very many games at the DI level, let alone with each other. This is going to be a process. But, by January, Illinois could start rolling and winning some big games. We have the pieces to compete and win.

My post on Thursday was, in a way, to temper expectations early on for the Illini. We have the talent to win games, but it could take some time to gel. I am going into the 2022-23 season expecting early struggles but to be a well-oiled machine when conference play rolls around.