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Illinois Basketball: Projected Illini lineup in 2023-24 with Niccolo Moretti

By Rees Woodcock

Feb 2, 2022; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 2, 2022; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 10, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Sencire Harris (1) scores against Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Emmanuel Bandoumel (25) in the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /

Illinois basketball picked up another commitment in the form of Niccolo Moretti on Wednesday afternoon.

This was a good addition to the Illini roster and one that should pay dividends down the road. While Moretti is going to join the team for the spring semester and is eligible to play immediately, I don’t think he will see that much time early on. But, hopefully, I am wrong and this kid is ready to go from day one.

I think Moretti’s time to shine is going to be next season. In the upcoming projected Illini lineup, I don’t include Skyy Clark and Coleman Hawkins. With Clark’s leave of absence, there are a lot of question marks, so I went worst-case scenario and left him off. I also left Hawkins off because I believe he will declare for the NBA Draft after the season concludes.

Here is the projected Illinois basketball lineup in 2023-24 with Niccolo Moretti.

No. 1 Guard

Starter: Sencire Harris (4-star)

We are only on the first player, and I know some people are going to scoff at who I have as the starting point guard next season. At this point, I think we continue starting Sencire Harris at the No. 1 guard spot and roll into next season with him leading the way.

Harris isn’t a true point guard by any means, but Illinois is a better team when he is on the court and bringing the ball up. I also believe Harris is smart enough and skilled enough to develop better point guard skills. Harris is a special player. Brad Underwood has trusted him to be a starter for the past four games. His stat line doesn’t do him justice. Harris is a big-time difference-maker for the Illini.

Backup: Niccolo Moretti (N/A)

Illinois secured one of the most underrated players for the class of 2023 on Wednesday. The addition of Niccolo Moretti is going to do wonders for the Illini depth.

There haven’t been too many issues with recruiting since Underwood took the reins, but the one issue I have had is with point guard depth. This has been his only bugaboo, but I think he is starting to figure things out. I have Moretti coming in and maybe seeing a few minutes here and there in the second half of the 2022-23 campaign. For next season, I have him backing up Harris at the No. 1 guard spot. Look for Moretti to be worked into the second rotation and for him to really start getting the feel of the game down. This will be a solid addition to the program.

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