Illinois State Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Redbirds

Redbirds’ Bench is much better

Howard Flemming, Harouna Sissoko, and Abdou N’Diaye all have significant starting experience in Normal. Transfers Liam McChesney, Kendall Lewis and Sy Chatman are talented newcomers that could battle for starting minutes.

While Chatman (UMASS) was technically with ISU last year, he opted out after five games. The 6’8 forward played in 35 Minuteman games and made six starts. He has the potential to be a breakout performer.

Flemming, Sissoko, and N’Diaye all averaged around four points per game. The 6’5 Fleming from highly touted Male High School in Louisville, grabbed 4.6 rebounds while making 13 starts. Neither he nor Sissoko are known as three-point shooters, but they get busy in the lane. At 6’7, 210 Sissoko is a bit more physical.

The 6’9 N’Diaye shows flashes of being a legitimate rim protector. He blocked 33 shots in 23 games while playing just 14 minutes per game. He struggles from the free throw line but is surprisingly good from long distance.

McChesney (Utah State) is more of a perimeter ‘four-man’. He averaged over 30 points per game during his last two high school campaigns. The Canadian native was ranked in the top 200 of all Canadian high school players. He redshirted during his freshman season at Utah State and played just three games last year due to a leg injury.

Muller calls Lewis (Appalachian State) an elite defender. He averaged 9.9 points for the Mountaineers and grabbed 4.1 rebounds. At 6’7 he is tall enough to defend in the paint and he is active enough to work the perimeter. Look for Lewis to gain more playing time as the season wears on.

Alston Andrews and Alex Kotov are both ‘bigs’ that each appeared in 12 games last season.