Illinois Fighting Illini

2023-24 Result: 29-9 (14-6 Big 10), Elite 8 Appearance

Key Additions

Kylan Boswell (Arizona)

Ben Humrichous (Evansville)

Tre White (Louisville)

Carey Booth (Notre Dame)

Jake Davis (Mercer)

Will Riley

Morez Johnson Jr.

Illinois’ roster has seen drastic changes since their Elite 8 loss to UConn back in March. Brad Underwood lost Terrence Shannon Jr. to the NBA, along with Marcus Domask, Coleman Hawkins, Quincy Guerrier, Dain Dainja, and Luke Goode. This collection of guys makes up 6 of their top 7 leading scorers and their top 6 in terms of minutes played. The only scorer coming back who was inside the top 7 is Ty Rodgers, who averaged 6.2 points per game. Underwood attempted to salvage some of these losses via the portal, bringing in Kylan Boswell, Ben Humrichous, Tre White, Carey Booth, and freshman, Kasparas Jakucionis. Illinois has some big shoes to replace from last year’s roster.

Illinois’ defense will look completely different this season since so many of its rotation players are gone from a year ago. They have more size in the paint with Zvonimir Ivisic’s brother, Tomislav, who stands at 7 ‘1. He is only a freshman, so he may struggle with the physicality and adapting to the college game, but size does not hurt, especially when he is three inches taller than their tallest player from a year ago. It may take the Illini a bit to find their identity on the defensive end, but having Coach Brad Underwood and the home court advantage that they have certainly helps. Carey Booth, a transfer from Notre Dame, figures to be another key piece of the defense, especially on the glass where they have a lot to replace. The guard defense should be steady with Kylan Boswell and Ty Rodgers. The real wild card is freshman Kasparas Jakucionis, who is considered to be a good prospect, but nobody has really seen much of his game so how he translates to the BIG 10 is hard to say. Illinois’ defense should be fine in this conference, but it will not stand out.

Where will the points come from? There are only two players on the roster who averaged double figures last season. Tre White averaged 12.3 at Louisville and Ben Humrichous scored 14.7 at Evansville. Illinois will need Kylan Boswell to take a big leap offensively, as well as the anticipated growth from Carey Booth. If those two can take a step forward, along with White and Humrichous, and the freshmen can pull their weight to be serviceable, this offense should fare fine. They do not have the go-to scoring options that they had last year, so this will need to be much more of a team approach. The shooting of the team is a concern, especially where Ty Rodgers, who is not known as an offensive threat, will play big minutes at guard despite having played 71 games in two seasons. That seems impossible as a guard, but trust me, it is accurate. This offense has concerns due to the departure of essentially all of their scoring from a year ago.

Illinois will be a middle of the pack team in a weaker BIG 10 conference. That will not be conducive to success on the national stage. Brad Underwood will do his best to put these guys in a position to win, but some years, you just don’t have the same personnel as in previous years. The Illini will have a chance to get back to March, but based on what has been seen from this team, expect an early offseason for the Illinois faithful.