Not only has one of their young guys from the class of 2017 transferred out of the program, but their best overall player from last year has declared for the NBA. Losing both Mark Smith and Leron Black hurt this team in different ways.
Smith had a bad freshman campaign, but he was just a freshman and there were signs of life throughout the season. He has a bright future but it won’t be with the Illini. He would have been a solid primary backup heading into next season. Now Illinois is hurting for depth.
Black was the best player on the Illini team last season.