No. 2 Guard
- Starter: Mihailo Petrovic
The prized get for the Illinois basketball program in the offseason was guard Mihailo Petrovic. While he is new to the team, he isn’t new to the game of basketball by any means. The Illini newcomer is over 22 years old, and his experience playing overseas is going to help the program tremendously.
This past season, Petrovic averaged 14.2 points, 7.3 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game. He also knocked down 33.3% from three-point range. While most people probably think Petrovic is going to be more of a facilitator on the Illinois basketball team, I think we are also going to need his scoring production as well.
- Backup: Brandon Lee
Illinois’ other mainland freshman coming into the program is Brandon Lee. Most years, I would hope the freshmen can take a backseat and then be unleashed as redshirt freshmen, but I don’t think that is going to be the case with this squad.
Lee is likely going to be thrown to the wolves, much like Keaton Wagler. He was also a four-star recruit and averaged 22.0 points per game last season. Lee was tabbed as the best player coming out of New Jersey, too. I have him as the primary backup in the backcourt. There is going to be a rotation of talent, and Lee should be a part of that.