It’s July. How excited should we be about Illinois basketball?

We are officially in that part of the calendar year for basketball fans where we don’t know what to do. We can only look at the highlights of last season’s Big Ten championship race or dwell on the disappointing end of the tournament.

Fortunately for us, after a busy offseason, we have reason to be excited for the upcoming season. Let’s take a look at some of them:

wing depth

The lack of wing depth in recent years has led us to run undersized/protective heavy lineups. For example, the average height between Trent Frazier, Alfonso Plummer, Andre Curbelo, Da’Monte Williams and Jacob Grandison was 6 feet 3 inches, and Illinois had at least 3 of them on the ground at all times. This size disparity led to predictability on offense, as we weren’t actually driving to the rim from the perimeter. Our offense was essentially taking a 3-point shot after throwing the ball between guards or getting Kofi into the paint.

Basketball is increasingly becoming a positionless sport, so teams at all levels are trying to acquire players who will give them the most versatility in the lineup without compromising height. As Kevin Durant said: “It’s a small forward league.” Fortunately, the Illini have plenty of them now.

The Illini have a pair of experienced Big 12 transfers in Terrence Shannon Jr. and Matthew Mayer, the latter of whom won a national title with Baylor in 2021. They also have a pair of returning wings in Luke Goode and RJ Melendez. . And last but not least, Ty Rodgers, who will arrive on campus after helping the US U18 team win gold at the FIBA ​​Championships. (The last Illini to do that was Ayo Dosunmu!) These 5 guys have an average height of 6ft 7, a big improvement over last year’s situation.

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Having good wing depth and size allows Illinois to attack the rim more aggressively on offense (most of these guys can hit the 3-ball too), while maintaining size and physicality on defense. More importantly, we should be a better rebounding team overall, not rely on a dominant big man like we’ve grown accustomed to. We shouldn’t find ourselves in a situation like the Houston game, where the Illini were overpowered on the glass because they had too many shooting guards on the floor.

Skyy Clark Recovery

Having all those wings is great, but you still need a guard who can give them the ball…insert Skyy Clark.

As many know, Skyy (a 5-star recruit) was a surprise addition to the team after previously committing to Kentucky. Skyy is coming off a torn ACL and many thought it would take him a while before he saw the floor for the Illini. But he appears to have made great strides under the watchful eye of Illini strength coach Adam Fletcher.

If he’s healthy and at his best, he’ll be the piece that makes this team work and should make everyone around him better.

floor spacing

With Kofi’s departure, Brad Underwood also had a chance to regroup at the big man position.

Coleman Hawkins and Dain Dainja will try to take the All-American’s spot.

Hawkins came through very well towards the end of last season and has entered the radar of NBA scouts; he’s projected to go to the second round in some mock drafts of 2023. Coleman will have a much bigger role and will likely play a lot of minutes at 5 in some of the smaller lineups. In fact, Illinois will probably be at their best with those smaller lineups because they’ll allow Illini to maximize that wing depth we talked about earlier.

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Dainja came over from Baylor after sitting out last year and should bring the physicality needed in some Big Ten games with his 6-foot-9, 270-pound frame. He also has a respectable jump shot to complement his post game.

The skills of Hawkins and Dainja allow the Illini to open up the floor for a more dynamic offense, as both can be effective out of the paint. It will also allow us to keep up with some of the most prolific/fast paced offenses seen outside of conference.

We may have a bumpy ride at first as all the new pieces settle into Big Ten basketball, but Illinois has everything on paper to have another strong season. There is no reason to think that we will not dance again in March.

So, cheer up. (But there are eight months left until March, so keep up the pace!)