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Illinois Basketball: Projected Illini lineup for the start of the 2022-23 season

By Rees Woodcock

Mar 20, 2022; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Coleman Hawkins (33) reacts against the Houston Cougars in the first half during the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2022; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Coleman Hawkins (33) reacts against the Houston Cougars in the first half during the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 24, 2022; San Francisco, CA, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (1) dribbles the ball against Duke Blue Devils forward Wendell Moore Jr. (0) during the first half in the semifinals of the West regional of the men’s college basketball NCAA Tournament at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 24, 2022; San Francisco, CA, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (1) dribbles the ball against Duke Blue Devils forward Wendell Moore Jr. (0) during the first half in the semifinals of the West regional of the men’s college basketball NCAA Tournament at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 2 Guard

Starter: Terrence Shannon Jr (G/SR) – 6’ 6”, 215-pounds

Despite Illinois losing a vast majority of the production from last season, we loaded up on a ton of talented freshmen and transfer players. The best transfer talent the Illini were able to pull in was Terrence Shannon Jr. from Texas Tech.

The former Red Raider is bringing some big-time scoring ability to the Illinois basketball program, and that is why I believe he will be starting at the No. 2 spot. Just this past season, Shannon averaged 10.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game while hitting 38.4% of his three-point shots. There are also various reports that Shannon was the best player for the Illini in the “secret” scrimmage against Kansas just a couple of days ago. This could be a huge year for this future NBA talent.

Backup: Sencire Harris (FR) – 6’ 4”, 160-pounds

Illinois is going to have an extremely young second rotation. I had freshman Jayden Epps as the backup at the No. 1 guard spot, and another freshman, Sencire Harris, should be the primary backup at the No. 2 guard spot.

Harris isn’t as highly-rated as the other Illinois commits from 2022, but he is one of the most decorated. The back-to-back Ohio state champion with St. Vincent-St. Mary’s is bringing a big-time winning mentality to the Illini. I do believe he will get some time this season, but I assume it will be somewhere between 5-8 minutes per game. With Shannon ahead of him in the lineup, it will give Harris time to develop his game for next season.

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