Illinois Basketball: 2023-24 season preview for the Fighting Illini

Illinois Basketball saw some growing pains in 2022-23 under head coach Brad Underwood. They finished 11-9 in the Big Ten standings when it was all said and done and fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 8/9 seed game. Still, it was another NCAA Tournament appearance under Coach Underwood, though, through the adversity, they fell once again in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

The Fighting Illini look to regroup in 2023-24 with six returners from last year’s 20-13 squad along with four transfer portal additions and three freshmen ready to contribute, especially in top prospect Amani Hansberry.

Terrence Shannon, Coleman Hawkins and Dain Dainja are the three leading names looking to continue their growth while Sencire Harris, Luke Goode and Ty Rodgers look to continue their growth heading into their sophomore seasons. There’s a nice mix of old and new for the Fighting Illini as they’ll also add Quincy Guerrier (Oregon), Marcus Domask (Southern Illinois), Justin Harmon (Utah Valley) and Keaton Kutcher (South Dakota) for added experience and then some out of the transfer portal.

Their biggest head-turning addition is without question, Quincy Guerrier. He joins the Big Ten after wreaking havoc on the Pac-12 for the past two seasons, the ACC for two seasons before that with the Syracuse Orange. Look for him to really turn things around for this squad.

There’s size from this year’s upcoming squad and there’s depth, now they’ll just need production on the hardwood as well as a better overall result on the season. Take a look at the 2023-24 season preview for the Illinois Fighting Illini.