Illinois Basketball: 3 takeaways from Illini victory over Jackson State

Alfonso Plummer Will Benefit the Most from Returns of key players

I think most Illini fans were expecting a little bit more out of transfer Alfonso Plummer in his debut, especially with Trent Frazier, Andre Curbelo, and Austin Hutcherson all out with injuries. With Curbelo and Frazier expected to handle almost all the point guard responsibilities this season, I expected to see Plummer take that on tonight. Instead, Da’Monte Williams and Coleman Hawkins surprisingly played that role.

This wasn’t the most encouraging thing to see as far as point guard depth goes, but I don’t think it’s that big of a concern because they should be back soon. If Underwood doesn’t trust or doesn’t want Plummer playing any point guard, that’s also fine. Like I’ve said, this game was a strange mix of players at times playing a strange set of roles. Plummer’s role, however, looked like what it will look like during the season.

He’s a shooter, not necessarily a playmaker. Once Curbelo and Cockburn return to the floor, shooters are what this team will need to space the floor. Without Cockburn generating a ton of attention in the lane, Jackson State’s defenders simply didn’t need to leave the perimeter nearly as much as they would have. Plummer should be just fine in about a week after all the dust has settled and he has less attention on him and more space to shoot. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about based on this outlier of an opener.