Aug. 26—How much Illinois' six-man freshman class will play this coming season is a legitimate question. Five key players from last year's Final Four team plus one of the top transfer guards in the country will likely eat up the majority of the 200 available minutes each game.
Quentin Coleman should get significant run. Expectations would have been high for the five-star guard based solely on his ranking, but they've gone sky high in the wake of all the "Is he the next Keaton Wagler?" comparisons.
The thing is ... there's something intriguing about all six Illinois freshmen. That might be some leftover Wagler hype given what's already happened to one under-the-radar recruit that turned into a top-five NBA draft pick, but Coleman and Co. all check plenty of boxes when it comes to the players the Illini staff value.
All six played on winning teams in high school. All six have decent to great positional size. All six can shoot.
Sounds like a winning formula. To further reinforce that notion, here's what assistant coach Tyler Underwood had to say about Illinois' freshman class the staff is "fired up about" following summer workouts:
"Kind of the headliner of the class out of St. Louis. Thought from where he started in June to where we ended in August, couldn't be happier with his growth. He's an unbelievable competitor."
"Freak athlete. I think he's going to be able to really impact the game on the defensive end."
"A really good shooter and can really push the pace."
"A 6-9 athlete who can step out and make shots."
"Big, physical, high IQ player."
"Really, really good shooter. Can do a lot of the things Jake Davis does for us. Real physical. Going to be a great player in time."
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