It’s been a solid offseason for Illinois Basketball, coming off a Round of 32 appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the 2024-25 season. The team lost two of its best players (Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley) to the NBA Draft, along with a couple of outgoing transfers, including Tre White.

However, the Illini have rebuilt their roster well. They landed a pair of key transfers from the portal in Andrej Stojakovic and Zvonimir Ivisic, along with some international freshmen newcomers. One other “newcomer” to the roster was supposed to be Ty Rodgers, a 6’6 versatile forward who elected to redshirt this past season. 

Unfortunately, Rodgers has suffered a setback in his journey back to the court.

Rodgers is a redshirt junior for Illinois, who started 38 games for them in the 2023-24 season. He produced 6.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, and 2.0 apg, shooting 53% from the field. Seven of those games ended in double figures for him, including a pair of 15-point outings. However, his offense overall is limited due to his lack of shooting ability, but his defense, versatility, and overall playmaking make Rodgers an asset for the Illini.

Particularly the defensive aspect. Stojakovic is the projected starting wing but was never a great individual defender at Cal. Returning players Ben Humrichous and Jake Davis weren’t strong in that department, and outside of returning lead guard Kylan Boswell, the rest of the team aren’t viewed as plus-defenders in that department. 

Let’s hope that this won’t be a season-ending situation for Rodgers, forcing him to miss two years of action. If it is, it’ll be a serious blow to Illinois Basketball. If he's out during the season this winter, look for Humrichous to have a larger role on the wings, while Boswell and Mihailo Petrovic will have all of the ball-handling duties.