No. 3 Guard
Starter: Tre White
Illinois doesn’t pull in someone as experienced and talented as Tre White and doesn’t start him. White was a great transfer portal addition for the Illini this offseason. He is an experienced veteran in the college game, and after spending his freshman season at USC and sophomore year at Louisville, White is looking for a big final two years in Champaign.
I have White coming into the Illinois program and starting at the No. 3 spot. I think he is a perfect option to have out on the wing. While he isn’t the greatest shooter, hitting just 29.9% from three-point range last season, I believe White is going to give Illinois the Quincy Guerrier numbers. Like Guerrier, White is a slasher who has a lot of bounce. He is going to be a nice long mismatch for defenses too.
Backup: Jake Davis
I will continue to say this until the season starts. I believe Jake Davis is one of the most underrated transfer portal additions for any program this offseason. Illinois was able to land Davis after he spent just one season with Mercer.
In the lone season with the Bears, the McCordsville, Indiana, native averaged 9.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. He also hit 38.7% from three-point range. I think Illinois is going to use Davis a lot as a sophomore. I have him coming off the bench as the primary backup at the No. 3 spot. He is going to be a scoring spark plug for this program.