Will Illinois Basketball Be a Top 40 Team?

Will Illinois Basketball Be a Top 40 Team?

Illinois basketball has recently had 4 very successful seasons. They have been in contention for the top of the conference each year and have safely made the NCAA Tournament. They now await the decisions of their two star players. Recent buzz has been that they will most likely get one of them back for a year, however there could be a situation in which they lose both. Jon Rothstein dropped his top 45 preseason rankings and included Illinois at number 38. Surprisingly, Rothstein projected that Terrence Shannon Jr will be the “star” that returns to Champaign. I wanted to delve into each possible scenario for the Illini.

They Lose both Hawkins and Shannon

If Illinois Basketball loses Terrence Shannon and Coleman Hawkins, I think its safe to say that there will be plenty of uncertainty regarding the floor of this team. They will become very reliant on the three transfers they got from the transfer portal, and honestly I think that has potential for disaster. Though they will likely add multiple players should both Hawkins and Shannon leave, they become very reliant on the returners. Ty Rodgers and Luke Goode would carry a massive role. All while players like Quincy Guerrier and Marcus Domask will be asked to shoulder a heavy scoring load.

In my opinion, the three transfer portal adds are all better served as supporting players. They were not star players at their previous spots and I think asking them to be that at Illinois would bode poorly.

Illinois Basketball returns one of the two.

If Illinois basketball has Coleman Hawkins or Terrence Shannon, I think the floor of the team immediately rises. The ceiling of the team would likely be dependent on two items. The progress of the returnees and the transfer addition that would replace whoever decides to leave. Based off of Rothstein’s prediction and recent buzz, Illinois may likely have Terrence Shannon Jr. Shannon Jr can have a senior season similar to that of Trayce Jackson-Davis. This means that statistically he would stay similar, however he asserts himself day in and out

If Shannon Jr returns, the burden on Ty Rodgers, Luke Goode and Sencire Harris lessens. Which, given their lack of consistent production at the NCAA level thus far, is a good thing. With Illinois also in on the best transfer point guard in the portal, things would look up. A starting lineup of said point guard, Shannon Jr, Ty Rodgers, Quincy Guerrier and Dain Dainja would be astounding and they would definitely be a top 30 squad.

Illinois Basketball returns both Hawkins and Shannon

I mean this is just self-explanatory. Illinois would be the best team in the league and possibly the country. There is quite the sell for both to return, make a killing off of NIL and be one of the better Illini teams in recent memory.

In short, having superstars return to the roster simply raises the floor for Illinois. There is a unique opportunity if both return, however it seems likely that they return only one. Even if that is the case, there are some developments yet to happen beyond the two superstars. If all plays well, Illinois will certainly find themselves in the upper half of the Big Ten Conference.