Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Rutgers

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CHAMPAIGN, IL – FEBRUARY 11: Coleman Hawkins #33 of the Illinois Fighting Illini and Luke Goode #10 of the Illinois Fighting Illini celebrate during the second half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at State Farm Center on February 11, 2023 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

4. It was nice to see Luke Goode get some early minutes

I would argue that Illinois is one of the deepest teams in college basketball. If someone is struggling or gets into foul trouble, the Illini have someone we can pull off the bench and not miss a beat.

What is even crazier is the fact that the Illini are getting even deeper. It has been a long time, and he hasn’t played a single minute leading up to the game on Saturday, but Luke Goode is back.

Goode was able to log five minutes in the game against the Scarlet Knights. As far as the game goes, they weren’t meaningful minutes. Goode didn’t have a huge impact on the game, and he wasn’t an asset on either end of the court.

In fact, Goode would go 0-of-1 from the field and didn’t record any other stats in the game. But the five minutes he played against Rutgers is bigger than numbers at this point.

Illinois is just working Goode back into the rotation. There is no reason to rush him into action and mess up the chemistry that is being built. The five minutes he played on Saturday is just the start of his ramp-up in the coming months.

If Brad Underwood can continue increasing Goode’s minutes a couple of minutes at a time, then by the NCAA tournament, we should have another player we can bring off the bench.

Goode is going to be an asset to this team later this year. This is only the beginning of something special. It is good to see him back on the court.

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