When Illinois’ basketball season abruptly ended this past March, we knew some significant roster changes were coming heading into 2021-22. Illini fans expected Ayo Dosunmu to move on to the NBA, and it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Kofi Cockburn would go pro, as well.
But a lot us were caught a bit off-guard when fan favorite Giorgi Bezhanishvili opted to forgo his senior season in Champaign and declare for the NBA Draft — it made sense that he would head overseas to play in Europe, especially since Giorgi hadn’t seen his family in nearly two full years.