He shot a strong 38.4 percent from 3-point range last year and will add some playmaking and dynamism on the wing to a team that lost Frazier, Plummer, Grandison and Curbelo this offseason. He’s currently projected as a fringe first-round pick, ranking 32nd on. He did have a bit of a down season last year scoring-wise after coming back, but the wing’s athleticism and skillset still has NBA franchises on notice. Shannon entered the NBA Draft in 2021 after his sophomore season at Texas Tech, but opted to return for his junior season. Additionally, Mayer made few mistakes with the ball in his hands (11.7 turnover percentage) a season ago. Mayer’s block percentage of 3.9 percent last season was 251st in the country and he also had a steal percentage of 3.2, which ranked 142nd. At 6-9, he’s a threat from deep (career 34.5 percent) but should also help bolster Illinois’ interior defense with Cockburn departed. He started every game a season ago for a Baylor team that lost in overtime of the second round of the NCAA tournament to eventual runner-up North Carolina. Mayer has a ton of experience, as he’s now a fifth-year senior. 247 Sports ranked Mayer as the 14th-best transfer available with Shannon coming in at No. Brad Underwood worked the transfer portal to score Matthew Mayer and Dain Dainja from Baylor along with Terrence Shannon from Texas Tech. Illinois has a chance at back-to-back conference titles this year thanks to some savvy roster maneuvering in the offseason. While all the major preseason publications picked Indiana as the Big Ten favorite, Illinois has landed firmly in the contending second tier along with Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and Ohio State. And yet, they still find themselves in the mix for another Big Ten title this season after being a co-champ in 2021-22. And just this offseason, the Fighting Illini had 10 players in total depart. Previously: Northwestern, Nebraska, Penn State, Maryland, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Rutgers, Michigan, Purdue, Michigan StateĪyo Dosunmu, Kofi Cockburn, Trent Frazier, Adam Miller, Alfonso Plummer, Da’Monte Williams, Jacob Grandison and Andre Curbelo have all moved on from the Illini basketball program the last two seasons. Today, our team previews conclude with Illinois. With the start of college basketball season on the horizon, we’ll look at the conference at large and Indiana’s roster over the next month.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |