Loren Tate's starting lineup for the 2017-18 season includes freshman Mark Smith, named the state's best player by The News-Gazette after a banner finishing season at Edwardsville High.
But don't expect too much out of Brad Underwood's marquee recruit.
"I think it's unfair to ask him to do more than he's capable of, which I think is to be a real solid freshman player," Tate says in his weekly podcast, 'Tatelines: Unedited.'
Tate says comparisons to Bruce Douglas are off base. "I don't see any," he says, adding that Douglas "did not average double figures three of his four years at Illinois.