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Illinois Basketball: One lineup to most look forward to

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Mar 5, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter and Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood chat before the start of the game at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Illinois basketball added ten new players to their roster in the past four months. After making a run to the Elite Eight, Brad Underwood seems keen on maintaining that momentum. Despite a magical season, the Elite Eight loss to the eventual national champions, Uconn, seems to have left a sour taste in the mouth of the Fighting Illini headman. After wielding an experienced and older roster last year, Underwood has significantly upped the talent level from top to bottom.

However, there can only be about eight players that will play significant meaningful minutes. This conundrum breeds competition and should make for some interesting lineup possibilities. One lineup possibility that Illinois fans should look forward to is..

Kylan Boswell, Kasparas Jakucionis, Will Riley, Ben Humrichous and Morez Johnson.

This lineup features three NBA draft prospects: Boswell, Jakucionis, and Riley. They have two exciting young ball-handlers and playmakers in Boswell and Jakucionis feeding off of each other. The lineup provides a proven 40 percent three-point shooter with size in Ben Humrichous. To top it all off, it features two of the highest-ranked prep recruiting prospects to ever don an Illinois basketball jersey in Will Riley and Morez Johnson.

The talent that exudes from this lineup is second to none. However, the fit is incredible. Riley is a proven scorer who can play off of the elite ball-handling that Kasparas Jakucionis brings to the table.

Additionally, Morez Johnson has already proven to be an elite rebounder with top-notch athleticism. Watch out if this lineup ever finds the floor.

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