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Illinois Basketball: 5 Illini players who will outperform expectations

By Rees Woodcock

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 02: Ty Rodgers #20 of the Illinois Fighting Illini plays against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on December 02, 2022 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 02: Ty Rodgers #20 of the Illinois Fighting Illini plays against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on December 02, 2022 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /
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Mar 16, 2023; Des Moines, IA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Ty Rodgers (20) dribbles the ball against Arkansas Razorbacks guard Ricky Council IV (1) during the first half at Wells Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Ty Rodgers

No one knows just yet what Illinois will get from Ty Rodgers at point guard. He is a point-forward this season, as Brad Underwood has tabbed him as the starting No. 1 guard.

Rodgers has all of the talent in the world, but he is kind of a nomad when it comes to a position. He can play anywhere Underwood needs him to play, and that is why point guard is the way to go.

I am not sure many Illinois fans are expecting huge things out of Rodgers this season, considering he did go through a position change. Learning the point guard role isn’t easy, but I think Rodgers can knock it out of the park.

Coming off a freshman campaign where he averaged 3.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game, Rodgers will look to take the next step. He will see a minutes increase from 17.5 minutes per game to probably somewhere around a minimum of 22 minutes per game. This will bump his numbers up as well.

Illinois isn’t going to look to Rodgers for a ton of scoring. I see him averaging somewhere around 5.0 points per game. His rebounding will probably jump to around 5.0 rebounds per game as well. Where Rodgers will outperform expectations is his ball distributing.

In the game against Kansas on Sunday, Rodgers led the Illini with three assists in 24 minutes. Mind you, this is against the No. 1 team in the country that has some good guards.

I believe Rodgers is going to have a big year when it comes to assists. Don’t be shocked if he is around 5.0 assists per game this season. That would put him up there with the best assists total for the Illini over the past 10 years, which is Ayo Dosunmu at 5.3 assists per game. Rodgers is going to be a key part of the Illinois offense.

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