WIP Ill

CHANGES

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Next are the Illinois Fighting Illini who finished in 2nd place in the B1G and won the B1G tournament. They got a #3 seed in the NCAA tournament and went to the Elite Eight, before losing to UConn when they gave up a 30-0 run.

They are coached by Brad (don't call him Bradley) Underwood. He has had success everywhere he has gone. He took Stephen F Austin to the tournament in all three of his seasons there. He took Oklahoma State to the tournament in his only season there. He has been in Champaign for seven seasons, and has had the Illini in the tournament the last four.

Last season Illinois was the #4 offense, but only the #80 defense according to KenPom.

GRADUATING

Player	Games	Starts	Minutes	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Notes
Terrence Shannon Jr.	32	31	34	23	4.0	2.3	Led in scoring
Marcus Domask	38	38	35	16	5.0	3.9	Led in assists
Quincy Guerrier	38	38	24	10	6.1	0.3	Led in rebounds
Justin Harmon	38	0	19	6	2.7	1.1

Illinois loses their top 4 scorers, 4 of their top 5 rebounders, their top 3 in assists, and their top 2 in assists and blocks.

Terrance Shannon, Marcus Domask, and Coleman Hawkins were All-Big-Ten.  

They are losing 4 starters.  Basically, Illinois loses a TON of production.  

IN THE DRAFT OR TURNING PRO

Player	Games	Starts	Minutes	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Can Return?
Coleman Hawkins	35	35	32	12	6.1	2.7	No
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TRANSFERRING OUT

Player	Games	Starts	Minutes	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Notes	Destination
Dain Dainja	38	3	11	6	3.6	0.2		Memphis
Luke Goode	38	7	20	6	3.6	0.6		Indiana
Amani Hansberry	19	0	8	2	2.1	0.3		West Virginia
Sencire Harris	0							West Virginia
Niccolo Moretti	18	0	6	2	0.8	0.6

For some reason Dainja only played 11 minutes per game. 

Sencire Harris was a redshirt last season after a modest freshman year.  He was a 4-star out of high school.

RETURNING

Player	Games	Starts	Minutes	Points	Rebounds	Assists	FG%	3Pt%	A/TO	Class	Recruiting  Stars	Recruiting Rank
Ty Rodgers	38	38	23	6	5.3	0.2	53%		1.6	Jr	4	59
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn	28	0	7	2	0.9	0.4	35%	22%	1.0	So	4	134
Nico Moretti	18	0	6	2	0.8	0.6	67%	67%	1.2	So	Unranked
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.
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The Illini only return one starter and a subs who didn't play very much.  

Moretti  was a late addition to the transfer portal





RECRUITS

In 2023 Boswell was Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.

Carey Booth didn't exactly have a great freshman year.  He was a decent rebounder, but you wouldn't expect a 6-10 guy to only shoot 39% from the field.  

Tre White played a year for USC where he started 26 games, and then transferred to Louisville.    

Jake Davis wasn't that impressive at Mercer.  I wouldn't expect much at Illinois.

Ben Humrichous had a very good freshman season for the 10th-place team in the Missouri Valley Conference.

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Illinois Fighting Illini

Additions: guard Kylan Boswell (Arizona), C/PF Carey Booth (Notre Dame), forward Ben Humrichous (Evansville), wing Tre White (Louisville), guard Jake Davis (Mercer)



Illinois lost practically their whole roster to graduation from an Elite Eight team, but the program did well to recruit to the identity it formed this past year with its portal additions. Champaign native Kylan Boswell is the big grab after two solid seasons at Arizona as a 3-and-D style lead guard. Carey Booth — son of former NBA player Calvin Booth — is a 6’10 big man who can knock down a three-pointer and keep the team’s 5-out style alive. Humrichous is a 6’9 knockdown shooter and versatile offensive weapon who could follow in Marcus Domask’s shoes by going from a low major star to Big Ten standout. White is a 6’7 forward with good scoring instincts, and Davis is a 6’6 guard who can shoot. Illinois lost a ton of talent, but this should still be a tournament team after rebounding nicely in the portal.

CONCLUSION