Illinois Basketball: 5 biggest storylines for 2020-21 season
By Jack Bennett
1. Will the Illini gel enough to win a championship?
Head coach Brad Underwood has done an extremely good job in turning the Illinois basketball program around. This coming year is his and the Illini’s best bet to win a Big Ten and national championship since 2005.
While there have been many teams whose expectations were set high and succeeded to reach those, there have also been many who have not come close to who people thought they would be. Do the Illini have what it takes to gel and win these championships? Yes, they do.
Take a look at every position on the Illini roster and you will see that there are almost no holes. Point guard is covered with veteran Trent Frazier and freshman Andre Curbelo, the two-guard is covered with Adam Miller and Jacob Grandison, and the three-guard is covered with Ayo Dosunmu and Austin Hutcherson.
That is not to mention the four spot/guard in Da’Monte Williams and Giorgi Bezhanishvili, the five spot in Kofi Cockburn, and potential sleepers Coleman Hawkins and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk.
This team is the deepest the Illini have had in recent memory and will be sure to withstand the injury or Covid-19 bug while still feeling confident in their chances to win games. There are not many teams in the nation with the depth and skill level that the Illini have and the mix of veterans and new talent is something that is hard to match.
Next. Early class of 2021 recruiting takeaways. dark
With proven stars Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn, alongside talented incoming freshman and returning veterans, Illinois basketball is in good hands. With this being said, I truly believe that this Illini team will compete (and win) a Big Ten championship and quite possibly a national title.