Outlook: Illinois was a team of inconsistency last season, but from a metrics standpoint was far better than its 12-21 (7-13) record suggested. A disappointing 4-12 (0-5) start to the 2018-19 campaign had many Illini faithful questioning the recent hiring of Brad Underwood, a coach that had enjoyed nothing but success prior to arriving in Champaign. Then on January 16th, a switch flipped. The Illini rattled off six wins in nine games, knocking off Minnesota, Rutgers, Nebraska, and Michigan State at home, Maryland on a neutral floor, and Ohio State on the road. It finally appeared Illinois had found its groove, playing up to its talent level. Despite finishing the year much like it started, Underwood’s squad was light years away from its 2018 non-conference woes. Youth and lack of size ultimately held back a roster chock full of athleticism and talent. 2019-20 promises to bring even more improvement with stud freshmen making that juicy leap to sophomore year and a solid core of upperclassmen leading the way.

Over the past three seasons, Underwood has acknowledged the fact that his high-pressure defensive system from Stephen F. Austin is less effective in the Power 6 with the uptick in athletes and skill at the guard position. Though he’s dialed back the all-out denials, his Illini are capable of wreaking havoc on the defensive end with a stable of athletes asserting high ball pressure and jumping passing lanes. The Illini ranked 24th in the country (1st in the Big Ten) in turnover rate last season thanks to the efforts of its three-headed backcourt monster Trent Frazier, Ayo Dosunmu, and Andres Feliz. The trio combined to average 3.66 steals per game, ranking 7th, 9th, and 22nd, respectively in the Big Ten. While the perimeter pressure befuddled many an opponent, Illinois was a sieve inside the arc and in the paint. The Illini were consistently destroyed on the defensive glass, ranking 307th in the country in DR% (13th in the Big Ten) and allowed opponents to shoot 64.5% near the rim (308th nationally). Freshman center Giorgi Bezhanishvili was objectively excellent on the offensive end last season, but his post defense and glass cleaning left much to be desired. If Illinois is to be an NCAA Tournament team in 2019-20, it must protect the paint.

Hope in this matter lies in the signing of Kofi Cockburn, a top 50 recruit and monolith at 7’0” 290 lbs. Cockburn is a monster presence on the block with his 7’2” wingspan. He’s physically imposing, aggressive, and a surefire boost to Illinois’s rebounding and post defense situation. Offensively he still lacks polish, limited to mostly “catch and dunk”, but there’s plenty of room for growth under the tutelage of Underwood. It remains to be seen if he’ll be able to share the floor with Bezhanishvili, a seemingly ideal solution to the Illini’s defensive struggles. Cockburn would own the block assignments while Bezhanishvili, a sneaky mobile big, could keep up with 4’s. Underwood played the departed Adonis De La Rosa, a similarly-sized big man as Cockburn, alongside Bezhanishvili sparingly but the results were overwhelmingly positive. In 154 defensive possessions, Illinois allowed just 0.86 PPP when the pair shared the floor compared to 1.01 PPP when featuring other combos up front.

It remains to be seen if Bezhanishvili will improve his defense in 2019-20, but he will no doubt be a focal point of the Illinois offense. Arguably one of the biggest freshman surprises in the country last season, the unranked recruit led the Illini in usage during his rookie season. His skill and touch served him well on the block, as he scored on post-ups at a very high rate, and his ability to win position battles aided his above average offensive rebounding rates. In the clip below, Bezhanishvili wins position against Iowa’s Luke Garza and deftly finishes a tough layup on the other side of the cup: