Illinois Basketball Has A Preseason First Team All-Big Ten Player

Illinois Basketball Has A Preseason First Team All-Big Ten Player

Illinois Basketball has had a resurgent past four years. Despite a lack of postseason success, Illinois Basketball has the best winning percentage in the Big Ten since the 2020 Season. Brad Underwood has done a remarkable job in turning this program around into a consistent tournament presence. A large part of their success is finally having top end talent. Ayo Dosunmu, Kofi Cockburn, Terrence Shannon Jr and Coleman Hawkins have all held the flag as the best player on the team. This next year, Terrence Shannon Jr looks to have another big jump in his play and production.

Hopefully Shannon Jr has improved certain aspects of his game, however he is considered one of the best players in the Big Ten. That was reinforced after the Chicago native was voted to the Preseason All-Big Ten team.

Other impressive players.

Shannon Jr is joined by Zach Edey, Cliff Omoruyi, Tyson Walker and more. However, Shannon Jr is one of four unanimous picks. Zach Edey, Boo Buie, and Jahmir Young are the only other players to be unanimous selections. There has been a huge debate between TSJ and Michigan State’s Tyson Walker throughout the offseason. Recently, Andy Katz released a top 10 shooting guard list. Tyson Walker was atop that list, while Terrence Shannon was placed at number 7.

I think the debate is legitimate. Shannon Jr is explosive and a train in the open court. However, Tyson Walker is a microwave who can absolutely dominate in the half-court.

Always a scoring threat ⚡️

These are the top 10 shooting guards for 2023-24, according to @TheAndyKatz 👇 pic.twitter.com/o2sZvpOL8P

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) October 3, 2023

Improvements to Make.

Outside of the mid-range and adding some variety to his powerful drives, I think the biggest thing that Terrence Shannon Jr really improve on is consistency. Terrence does not need to be a point guard or assist guy, however he had too many dips and valleys in his play. If he can consistently assert himself every game, Terrence will have a season that could go down in Illinois Basketball history.

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