How Illinois basketball survives the month without Kylan Boswell

Illinois basketball suffered a major blow today with the news that senior guard Kylan Boswell will miss at least one month with a fractured right hand. The Illini are heading into some major Big Ten battles and losing their senior leader certainly hurts a lot. Regardless, the Illini must find a way to win without Boswell. As it stands, it will be difficult for the Illini to yet again change their overall style of play, and they have typically used Kylan Boswell off the ball. A lot of people are jumping to the conclusion that Mihailo Petrovic or Jake Davis will assume a lot of Boswell’s responsibilities. Though Petrovic will now play a lot more with Boswell on the bench, I think a lot of responsibility shifts within the starting lineup and towards two players in particular.

Andrej Stojakovic and freshman Brandon Lee. 

Downhill drives and Defensive intensity

In addition to more playing time for Petrovic and Davis, Keaton Wagler now has a lot more responsibility as a leader on both ends of the ball. However, Keaton, Jake, and Mihailo are going to play the same roles they currently do. Asking Jake Davis to create off the dribble or Petrovic to guard wings is simply not going to happen. I think two players on this team can provide something similar to what Kylan Boswell has been bringing.

The first player is Andrej Stojakovic. Stojakovic has the most two-way potential on this team outside of Kylan Boswell. He has the ability to get his buckets and can also annoy perimeter players with his length and athleticism. The problem has been consistency. Ever since a strong start in Iowa City, Stojakovic has 11 points in the last two games. The Illini have to find a way to get Stojakovic going, as a lot of teams know he’s going to try to ram his way to the rim. If Andrej can focus on the defensive end first, perhaps his offensive game opens up.

Brandon Lee has played spot minutes in Big Ten play, particularly when players have been in foul trouble. Underwood has described Lee as a pitbull who can get after it on the defensive end. If Lee can come in, defend, and move the ball around on offense, he should get some decent minutes as Boswell sits out.

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