Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your day by day dose of faculty basketball information from Illini beat author and AP High 25 voter Scott Richey. He’ll supply up insights each morning on Brad Underwood’s workforce:
The NBA’s bubble in Orlando (i.e. Disney) was so profitable school basketball was going to make a go of it, too. “Was” being the operative phrase there. Monday marked the top of that concept, with ESPN saying it was canceling its Orlando bubble that may have been host to eight relocated multi-team occasions.
Testing protocols appeared to have been the tipping level. As in, not everybody agreed to them. If that is not a little bit of an omen for the 2020-21 school basketball season, I do not know what’s. Possibly conference-only seasons are the one reply.
Anyway, no Orlando bubble means an unknown destiny for a possible date on the Illinois basketball schedule. A matchup with Baylor within the Jimmy V Traditional had been rumored for the Illini. Now that recreation wants one other house (if it truly occurs).
The faculty basketball season begins in lower than a month. That Illinois does not have a finalized schedule — a problem additionally going through many, many different groups — is sort of a priority. The Illini’s season might nicely begin with out the complete 27-game slate formally in place, and if school soccer has taught us something it is that having a schedule of video games does not imply you may play all of them.
However let’s attempt to save the potential Illinois-Baylor matchup in early December. That one could possibly be a doozy with each groups, at minimal, prime 10 squads heading into the season.
Illinois has a slew of proficient guards led by Ayo Dosunmu and Trent Frazier. Baylor can counter with Jared Butler and Davion Mitchell. The Bears’ have a glue man/shutdown defender in Mark Important. The Illini’s reply is Da’Monte Williams.
The place Illinois may need the higher hand is Kofi Cockburn. Baylor cannot actually match the 7-foot, 285-pound heart apart from to throw a bunch of men at him like Flo Thamba (keep in mind him?) or freshmen Zach Loveday (too skinny) and Dain Dainja (offers up a number of inches).
