Illinois Fighting Illini
It was a rough past season for the Illini, underachieving despite all of the talent available. There’s plenty of work Coach Brad Underwood will have to do with this roster, including finishing a lead guard and replacing the team’s two leading scorers, Terrence Shannon, and Matthew Mayer.
The team also may have to find a new big man, depending on what Coleman Hawkins does. The junior big man averaged 9.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and 3.0 apg and has an athletic all-around game that should translate well to the NBA.
If that happens, Dickinson could make sense. In fact, Shannon does still have a year left of eligibility. Last offseason, Dickinson tried to recruit Shannon to Michigan but reportedly, academics got in the way, which pushed the former Texas Tech guard to Illinois. If the two wanted to team up still, Illinois would be where that happens.
The Fighting Illini was at its best in the two years that All-American Kofi Cockburn was leading the team. They can repeat that with Dickinson, who is an even better offensive player and fully familiar with Big Ten play. That would end up being the biggest transfer pickup in program history and with the right point guard to join them would have Illinois as a frontrunner.