Being an Illinois basketball fan is not easy. John Groce is a mediocre coach, and he doesn't recruit very well. He hasn't taken Illinois to the Big Dance but once in his tenure. With all that said, I think the program is about to break out. Groce has found a way to land some good recruits in the last two years. The freshman class this past season was pretty good being lead by Jalen Coleman-Lands. The class coming in this year only has two players coming in. A point guard named Te'Jon Lucas and a small forward named Kipper Nichols. Nichols is a transfer from Tulane. He lacks a shooting touch, but he is very athletic and can get to the basket. I am very excited to see Te'Jon Lucas play. He is only a three-star recruit, but I think he is underrated. Illinois has lacked a true point guard, and I think Lucas is gonna be it. I can't be more excited to see next years recruiting class come in: four-star center Jeremiah Tilmon, four-star shooting guard DaMonte Williams and three-star shooting guard Javon Pickett. Illinois fans should be looking forward to these three coming in. Tilmon is the big guy that Illinois has been missing since Meyers Leonard left. Illinois great Frank Williams' son DaMonte can flat out score, and he flies around the court on defense. Pickett will be a solid role player who plays well on both sides of the ball. The Illini just got a transfer from Creighton that is a lights out shooter. Best part about the recruiting is that I don't think they are done yet. I think they have a good shot at landing four-star shooting guard Jordan Goodwin and four-star point guard Trent Frazier.
Losing Kendrick Nunn definitely is a big blow to the roster. He was the second leading scorer, and he was a pretty good defender. But Tracy Abrams and Mike Thorne Jr. are able to come back for one more season so that definitely helps. Abrams is a veteran who is coming off of several different injuries, and Mike Thorne Jr. was only able to play eight games after transferring to Illinois from Charlotte. Thorne impressed me with his ability to score in the post and rebound the ball, which Illinois needs in a bad way. He is a legitimate post presence. Maverick Morgan is another big man that came on strong at the end of the year and overall had a pretty good season. He doesn't try to do to much and he just gets the job done. I was very surprised with how well Michael Finke played. He is a tweener who needs to work on his rebounding and strength. He is 6 foot 10 inches, and he can score from in and out with a very good shooting touch. He also shot 36 percent from three last year. Jalen Coleman-Lands and Malcolm Hill did a lot of the scoring last year. Hill is the leader of the team and he is a very versatile player. Coleman-Lands can stroke from three. I am very excited to see what he is going to do in his sophomore season. Overall the roster this year has a lot of talent, but it will be interesting to see how Groce coaches them.
Illinois fans should be excited for the next couple years of basketball. They have good recruits coming in and a pretty solid roster. All the arrests and suspensions are definitely not a bright spot for the program, but I think that is over. Groce's future is not very clear, but a good season would definitely help him. I don't like how Groce runs his offense, but he coaches with a lot of energy, and he seems to get respect out of his players. This season should be a good one for Illinois, but we will see come October.
