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Illinois basketball offseason 101

matt daniels, the news-gazette, champaign-urbana, ill.
·5 min read
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Jun. 2—Two veteran leaders opting for another season in Champaign. A veteran transfer point guard in the fold. The wheeling and dealing of the offseason is maybe nearing its end for the Illini at the start of June.

A day after Terrence Shannon Jr. and Coleman Hawkins both announced they would return next season to bolster Brad Underwood's program, Jeremiah Williams joined the mix on Thursday. What's all this mean with the season five months away? Sports Editor MATT DANIELS breaks it down:

Big Ten power poll

RK., TEAM 2022-23 REC.

1. Purdue 29-6

2. Michigan State 21-13

3. Illinois 20-13

4. Indiana 23-12

5. Maryland 22-13

6. Rutgers 19-15

7. Michigan 18-16

8. Ohio State 16-19

9. Northwestern 22-12

10. Penn State 23-14

11. Wisconsin 20-15

12. Iowa 19-14

13. Nebraska 16-16

14. Minnesota 9-22

Polling place: Getting the reigning National Player of the Year and Big Ten Player of the Year in Zach Edey to return to Purdue pushes the Boilermakers into the top spot. Matt Painter will expect more out of sophomore guards Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith, plus the embarrassing motivation of losing as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament likely can't be overstated. Tom Izzo has plenty of returnees opting for another season in East Lansing, with Jaden Akins and A.J. Hoggard joining Tyson Walker to give the Spartans a formidable backcourt. But the frontcourt of Illinois should give Brad Underwood's program a boost, with Terrence Shannon Jr. and Coleman Hawkins in a spot to improve upon their performances last season on a now older, veteran Illini roster.

Tweet check

Three posts by Coleman Hawkins that have stood out:

Free her ! pic.twitter.com/oiQqxIlIGT

— Coleman Hawkins (@colehawk23) June 1, 2023

"Free her!"

in response to a joke (hopefully) about a fan letting their grandma out of a cage if Hawkins and Shannon return.

Damn I ain't even get a chance to post my video...

— Coleman Hawkins (@colehawk23) June 1, 2023

"Damn I ain't even get a chance to post my video"

A tweet at 9:46 p.m. Wednesday minutes after tweets started surfacing that Hawkins would return to Illinois

I'm transferring to Michigan

— Coleman Hawkins (@colehawk23) May 31, 2023

"I'm transferring to Michigan"

in response to a fan asking about his decision.

Way-too-early Top 25 poll

RK., TEAM 2022-23 AP RANK

1. Kansas 4

2. Purdue 3

3. Marquette 6

4. Houston 2

5. Florida Atlantic 25

6. Michigan State NR

7. Duke 12

8. Connecticut 10

9. Creighton NR

10. Gonzaga 9

11. Arkansas NR

12. Miami 16

13. Southern Cal NR

14. San Diego State 18

15. Texas 5

16. Alabama 1

17. Arizona 8

18. UCLA 7

19. Tennessee 20

20. Illinois NR

21. Baylor 12

22. North Carolina NR

23. Kentucky NR

24. Saint Mary's 19

25. Indiana 21

Polling place: Lofty expectations are always there for Kansas. Reaching 33 consecutive NCAA tournaments and winning two national titles with Bill Self on the bench only enhances that. Bring in Hunter Dickinson, bring back Kevin McCullar, Dajuan Harris and KJ Adams and the Jayhawks are the team to beat. Illinois will get a tough early-season test when Marquette arrives Nov. 14 to State Farm Center. Shaka Smart's reigning Big East champs can lean on point guard Tyler Kolek and a plethora of other returnees. Having Illinois at No. 20 seems reasonable with the lack of a proven point guard right now. Even with the influx of veterans coming to Champaign, strong guard play can't be overlooked when the bright lights of March arrive.

Meet the new point guard

What to know about Jeremiah Williams

Where he's from:

* The 6-foot-4, 177-pound native of Chicago starred at Simeon and at St. Laurence in high school before two seasons at Temple and one season at Iowa State.

What he's done:

* Led Temple for two seasons before transferring to Iowa State. He missed last season with the Cyclones after injuring his left Achilles tendon last October.

What he brings:

* A capable scorer who averaged 9.5 points at Temple in the 2021-22 season, but who can get his teammates involved, too. He averaged more than four assists in each of his two seasons with the Owls.

Hey wait, where is the Final Four next year?

Look left — and below — at four dates worth knowing for future reference if you're an Illini fan:

Dec. 9

The Nov. 14 home game against Marquette is a test. But playing Tennessee at its 21,678-seat Thompson-Boling Arena on the second Saturday of December might give a better clue about what type of team Illinois is before Big Ten play revs up in earnest.

MARCH 13-17

The Illini don't want to play on March 13 at the Big Ten tournament at the Target Center in Minneapolis. That means they're one of the bottom-four teams. But vying for a tournament title on March 17 before finding out its NCAA tournament fate isn't a bad thing.

MARCH 22-24, 29-31

A trip to Indianapolis for first- and second-round NCAA tournament games, followed by a trip to Detroit the following weekend for Midwest Regional games? It's not as ideal as 2005, but it's all within driving distance for Illinois fans hailing from C-U.

APRIL 6-8

State Farm Center is where Terrence Shannon Jr., Coleman Hawkins and the rest will want to enjoy their winter. But State Farm Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale is where the Illini ultimately want to wind up, the site of next season's Final Four.