Copyright Chicago Tribune
College basketball season has arrived, and Illinois teams have plenty of interesting storylines to follow. Here are five questions for local teams as their seasons begin Monday. 1. Is Illinois’ revamped group ready for a seriously tough schedule? The No. 17 Illini should be able to gauge pretty quickly where they stand with a new-look team that includes returnees Kylan Boswell, Tomislav Ivišić and Ben Humrichous, plus several key newcomers in a pair of international signees, a pair of transfers and a pair of freshmen. Within the first 33 days of the season, Illinois will face four nonconference opponents ranked in the top 18 in the Associated Press preseason poll. That starts at home against No. 10 Texas Tech on Nov. 11, followed by No. 15 Alabama on Nov. 19 at the United Center. The Illini then face No. 4 Connecticut on Nov. 28 at Madison Square Garden and No. 18 Tennessee on Dec. 6 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. And then there’s the Big Ten schedule, which includes five more teams ranked in the preseason Top 25, including a trip to play at No. 1 Purdue on Jan. 24. Illinois prepared for the slate with a closed-door scrimmage against defending national champion Florida. The Illini lost first-round NBA draft picks Kasparas Jakučionis and Will Riley from the team that lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Kentucky. But they restocked with some (literally) big additions — 7-foot-2 Arkansas transfer Zvonimir Ivišić and 6-9 forward David Mirković from Montenegro — and an exciting pair of guards in California transfer Andrej Stojaković and Mihailo Petrović of Serbia. Underwood has spoken highly of freshman guards Keaton Wagler and Brandon Lee. With the new group joining leaders such as Boswell, there’s legitimate hype around the Illini. But it’s a massive challenge to have them all in sync in the first month for their tough games, especially considering Petrović (hamstring) and Stojaković (knee) have been battling injuries. “It just shows we’re not afraid to play anybody,” Stojaković said of the schedule. “I think we’re ready for the best games in the country. I think we have the skill set to do it, and our effort is there so far. So I’m very excited to be in those environments.” 2. Can Nick Martinelli lead a different Northwestern team to bigger things? The Wildcats are certain in what they have in Martinelli. The 6-foot-7 senior forward continued his ascent last season by leading the Big Ten in scoring with 20.5 points per game to go with 6.2 rebounds. And coach Chris Collins expects him to make an even bigger impact with vocal leadership this season. But Collins said last month he still was feeling out who else will step up from what he considers a deep group of players. The Wildcats lost four senior starters from last season, including leader Brooks Barnhizer, who missed half the season with a foot injury. That and an injury to grad student Jalen Leach derailed the season for the Wildcats, who finished 17-16 and 7-13 in the Big Ten. They rebuilt in the offseason with some intriguing talent, including South Florida transfer guard Jayden Reid, Cincinnati transfer forward Arrinten Page, Holy Cross transfer guard Max Green and 6-8 freshman wing Tre Singleton, who was ranked as the No. 80 recruit in the country and No. 4 in Indiana in the Class of 2025. They join a group of key returnees in forward Angelo Ciaravino and guards Jordan Clayton, Justin Mullins and K.J. Windham. If that’s a lot of names to keep track of as Martinelli’s supporting cast, Collins is OK with that. “We have the opportunity to have more depth this year, which will be newer for me too,” Collins said. “We’ve always played a shorter bench, and I’ve never been afraid to play guys 35, 37, 38 minutes in a game. I would love to be in a position where we get Nick’s minutes down a little bit, where he could be fresher at the end of games, and play more guys. And to do that, play a little bit faster. Our tempo has been slower at times because of guys playing heavy minutes. “With our speed and quickness, I think there’s going to be opportunity to play a little bit faster tempo, maybe play a couple more guys. … I think we’re going to have the kind of team, honestly, where Michigan State was like this last year. They probably had the most depth in the league, played 10 guys, and on a nightly basis, you never know who that leading scorer (would be), and they end up winning the league. “Now, I think Nick will be our leading scorer. But day to day in practice, there’s different guys on our team that emerge.” 3. Can DePaul continue its turnaround under coach Chris Holtmann? In Holtmann’s first season, the Blue Demons improved by 11 wins to finish 14-20. They ended a 39-game Big East regular-season losing streak and finished with four conference wins plus a conference tournament win. With a mix of returnees and transfers, they’ll look to build on that improvement under Holtmann, the former Ohio State and Butler coach. They were picked to finish ninth of 11 in the Big East preseason poll. DePaul returns three of its top four scorers from a year ago: guards CJ Gunn and Layden Blocker and forward NJ Benson. The newcomers include Colorado transfer guard RJ Smith, Tulane transfer forward Kaleb Banks and Radford transfer guard Brandon Maclin. Holtmann told reporters in preseason news conferences that Smith brings maturity, experience and steadiness, and he tabbed Maclin as a leader of the reworked group. “(Maclin) has emerged as a guy who carries a degree of influence in the locker room, on the floor and off the floor,” Holtmann said. “So that’s been encouraging to identify.” The Blue Demons won two exhibition games against local teams — 92-90 over Loyola and 69-62 over Notre Dame — though Holtmann said he doesn’t put much stock in the preseason results. 4. Will Drew Valentine and Miles Rubin lead Loyola back to the NCAA Tournament? Rubin, a 6-10 junior center from Simeon, headlines the Ramblers this season. He was picked for the preseason All-Atlantic 10 first team as well as the all-defensive team after averaging 9.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks last season and setting a Loyola single-season record by shooting 71.4% from the field. But Valentine’s group otherwise looks very different from the one that went 25-12 and made it to the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament. Desmond Watson and Sheldon Edwards graduated, and Jayden Dawson (Kansas) and Jalen Quinn (Drake) transferred. Not to mention the Ramblers will be without their most famous fan and team chaplain, Sister Jean, who died last month at 106. The Ramblers added eight newcomers, including five transfers led by forward Joshua Ola-Joseph (California), guard Kayde Dotson (New Mexico) and guard Deywilk Tavarez (Charlotte). Guard Justin Moore returns from a season-ending knee injury after playing nine games for Loyola. Valentine, in his fifth season, told reporters at Atlantic 10 media day — where the Ramblers were picked to finish fifth — that they had an “outstanding” fall. “We’re going to lean into the defensive identity that has made Loyola special,” Valentine said. “Offense is going to be similar to what we’ve always done and won big with, with the sum being greater than each individual part. “Really excited about our talent level, our length, our speed. I think we are an improved shooting team. But everything with us begins and ends with the defensive side of the ball and our culture. And I feel like that’s extremely, extremely strong.” 5. Is there a Big Ten team that can end the conference’s national championship drought? It has been 25 years since Michigan State won the 2000 national title, and no Big Ten team has done it since, despite eight conference teams making the championship game in that span. Now Purdue, led by national player of the year candidate Braden Smith and fellow preseason All-American Trey Kaufman-Renn, is ranked No. 1 and looking to end the drought under coach Matt Painter. The Boilermakers advanced to the Sweet 16 last season. “Knowing that it’s the last dance, the last go-around, our last year playing together gives us a lot of motivation,” Kaufman-Renn said. The Boilermakers aren’t the only conference team with potential. Also ranked are No. 7 Michigan, No. 12 UCLA, No. 17 Illinois, No. 22 Michigan State and No. 24 Wisconsin.
