Illinois Basketball: Preview of Illini depth chart for 2020-21 season
By Jack Bennett
This coming season for the Illinois basketball team will be one filled with a deep rotation and possibly the most talent that an Illini team has had since 2005.
As March of 2020 inched closer, Illinois basketball fans could not have been much happier with where their team was at. Big wins over well-known programs and hopes of a deep NCAA tournament run fueled the positivity throughout the fanbase.
As we all know, the tournament never happened and the Illini were never able to play a single postseason game, even in the Big Ten tournament. To add insult to injury, soon after the end of the season both Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn declared for the NBA draft. While the declaring of Dosunmu was no surprise to the Illini, the decision made by Cockburn was a relative shocker. Pair this with the transfer of role player Alan Griffin along with the graduation of Andres Feliz, and the coming season seemed a bit bleak for Illini fans.
If some positivity were to be taken out of the offseason though, it would come in the form of another successful recruiting class for head coach Brad Underwood. Adam Miller, a former teammate of Dosunmu in high school, and shifty point guard Andre Curbelo highlighted the class while Prolific Prep forward Coleman Hawkins was a nice addition to round out the group. While these players were in no way expected to fill the shoes potentially left by Dosunmu and Cockburn, it certainly helped lighten the load.
Following a summer full of uncertainty regarding the NBA draft and the upcoming college basketball season, Illini fans got an early Christmas gift in early August when both Dosunmu and Cockburn decided to return to Champaign. Few expected both to return together but the decisions are certainly ones that the folks in Illini country will never complain about.
With the outlook of the coming season brighter than the north star for the Illini, one factor that has been slept on by many is the eligibility of two sit-out transfers. Jacob Grandison from Holy Cross and Austin Hutcherson from D-III Wesleyan could possibly be x-factors for this talented team. Grandison is regarded as a do-it-all type forward with the ability to play multiple positions.
The addition of Hutcherson could be the biggest factor of the season though as many have compared his journey from D-III to D-I to that of Duncan Robinson of Michigan who now plays for the Miami Heat in the NBA. Head coach Brad Underwood has had high praise for Hutcherson and has already stated that he is possibly the best athlete on the team.
Even with the departure of Griffin, Tevian Jones, and Andres Feliz, the Illini look primed to be the team to beat in the Big Ten. With that being said, let’s take a look at just how the rotation for the Illini could shape up.