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Projected Illinois basketball lineup with the addition of Tre White

While the transfer portal is filling up, the Illinois basketball team is plucking out talented players who could help the program win games.

By Rees Woodcock

Louisville s Tre White makes the basket against Georgia Tech Saturday night in the KFC Yum
Louisville s Tre White makes the basket against Georgia Tech Saturday night in the KFC Yum / Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA
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No. 4 Forward

Starter: Amani Hansberry (SO)

The recent addition of Tre White and the departure of Jase Butler doesn’t affect the frontcourt in my opinion. I still believe Illinois needs to ride into next season with Amani Hansberry starting. He is entering his sophomore season, and I think Brad Underwood needs to rely more on Hansberry. I have him starting at the No. 4 spot on the court.

Hansberry is a unique player. He is a bit undersized for the No. 5 spot, and he is bigger than most forwards on the court. He is built like a power forward but can shoot from three-point range. We especially saw that toward the end of the UConn game when he was raining down three-pointers. Hansberry averaged 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game last season. I think we get at least 20 minutes each night out of him in 2024-25, and look for Hansberry to blossom into an All-Big Ten type of player.

Backup: Jake Davis (SO)

Illinois’ second unit needed some help in the scoring department. Really, the entire roster needed a boost in scoring, but with the addition of Jake Davis, Illinois won’t lose anything when we go to the bench.

I have Davis as the primary backup to Hansberry at the No. 4 spot. Honestly, Davis is likely to come in at the No. 3 or No. 4 spots throughout the game. With his 6-foot-6 size, he can play multiple roles and his ability to knock down shots is eye-popping. Davis averaged 9.0 points per game as a freshman, but what stands out is his 4.7 three-point attempts per game and hitting them at a clip of 38.7%. I have Davis as the primary backup, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him eventually starting.

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