Illinois Basketball: 5 Illini players who will outperform expectations

5. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn

The multiple projected Illinois basketball lineups that I produced over the past month or so had Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn not seeing much time this season. In fact, I had him potentially taking a redshirt.

I thought this would be the best path for Gibbs-Lawhorn because I thought Niccolo Moretti was going to be the primary backup at the No. 1 guard spot. It looks like I may be wrong, though.

In the Kansas game, Brad Underwood made the decision to bring Gibbs-Lawhorn into the game before Moretti. This surprised me greatly, as I thought Moretti was clearly the better player in the Spain trip and against Ottawa.

I didn’t have much in the way of expectations for Gibbs-Lawhorn this season, but I believe there now could be a spot for him to contribute immediately to this team.

Gibbs-Lawhorn brings so much energy to the court. He loves to run and has the ability to light up the scoreboard. I believe Underwood will go with no point guard for stretches in 2023-24, but when Ty Rodgers needs a rest and we need a point guard in there, Gibbs-Lawhorn seems to be the answer at this moment.

At the end of the day, I think Gibbs-Lawhorn now has a chance to be a solid contributor for the Illini. I didn’t think that before, which is why I have him on the list of players who will outperform expectations in 2023-24.