Jeremiah Fears shares a glimpse of what lies ahead for Illinois basketball

The future is upon us, and it looks pretty darn good for the Illinois basketball program.

Has the offseason been slightly traumatic for the Illini fanbase? Sure. Did we lose all but two players from the Elite 8 roster just a couple of months ago? Okay.

If nothing else, you can point to the Illinois basketball coaching staff and say they adapted to the transfer portal arguably better than any other coaching staff in the college game.

On Tuesday night, Illinois fans got a little glimpse of the present and future of the program. Jeremiah Fears, the five-star recruit by ESPN who is committed to Illinois, threw up on his social media account a picture.

Ty Rodgers, with his beaming smile and underrated height, is standing on the left. He is one of the two holdovers from last season’s roster. On the right, Fears, who is coveted as one of the best players in the class of 2025 and will only continue to get stronger as time progresses. Sandwiched in the middle of Rodgers and Fears? Key transfer portal addition, Kylan Boswell, a bulldog on the basketball court and someone to keep an eye on for the 2025 NBA Draft.

The trio of Kylan Boswell, Ty Rodgers, and Jeremiah Fears could be coming to the Illinois basketball team sooner than you think

With so much talent departing the Illinois basketball team via the transfer portal and aging out, I believe Rodgers has a chance to blossom into a more complete player. He wasn’t asked to take shots last season, so he didn’t shoot from further than five feet.

Rodgers and Boswell should be able to get the Illinois offense moving too. Just hours after Fears posted the photo of the trio, he posted a video of their workout in the gym.

There was a lot of electricity in that game. All three Illinois players getting to the hoop. Boswell and Fears showed off their shooting range with some deep bombs. These three will help Illinois reach some great heights.

How soon will the trio be together is the big question. There are always rumblings of Fears potentially reclassifying to the class of 2024, which would put him on the team this fall. For me, that is the best-case scenario.

But if Fears can’t reclassify, that is okay too. Boswell, Rodgers, and Fears all have ties to the state of Illinois, and they are just showing what kind of talent this state can produce. Boswell and Rodgers can help lead the Illini to at least another Elite 8 appearance this season. Fears can come into the picture and either join the two or take the baton and keep running. At a bare minimum, the future is bright in Champaign.