This past recruiting class was tremendous for the Illini, but it also hurt in some ways as well. They snagged some great guard talent and those players will help the team win in the future.
But, what Illinois lost out on was a big-time center named Jeremiah Tilmon. He was supposed to be a nice bridge player for a couple of years until the class of 2019 big men decided to commit. Well, Tilmon is likely going elsewhere unless Mark Smith and the coaching staff convince him otherwise.
That leaves Illinois out on the streets looking for a big man to guard the rim.