Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Monmouth

2. The Illinois starting lineup might need an adjustment

I have zero complaints about what I saw against Monmouth. Illinois came out of the gates hot and never looked back.

Despite having zero complaints, I am starting to think that we might need a slight lineup adjustment moving forward. Yes, three games into the season and I am already thinking about shifting the lineup.

I usually like to stick to the saying of if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. I am going against that saying in this case. The Illinois lineup isn’t broken by any means. I love how we are playing as a team. But when you have a player performing like Dain Dainja, you have to start him at some point.

Dainja has arrived on the scene at Illinois and has impressed everyone. This guy couldn’t see the court at Baylor, but he transferred to Illinois and has revamped his career. In the first two games, he averaged 18.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game. One would think he might slow down a little bit after two big games. That really wasn’t the case against Monmouth, though.

While Dainja only played 18 minutes in the victory, he still managed to put up 15 points, four rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and one assist. He was 7-of-9 from the field as well.

In the three games Illinois has played this season, Dainja hasn’t shot below 77.8% from the field, which is insane. He isn’t just dunking the ball either. His touch from inside 10 feet is some of the best I have seen from an Illinois big man in my lifetime. It is up there with James Augustine.

With that being said, I think it is time to give Dainja a rip at a starting spot. I think bringing Matthew Mayer off the bench as a sparkplug would give Illinois the best rotations right now. Coleman Hawkins, who is 6-foot-10, can be a nice one-two punch with Dainja, who is 6-foot-9. I want to see a lineup of Skyy Clark, Terrence Shannon Jr., RJ Melendez, Coleman Hawkins, and Dainja in the next game.