Preseason Rotation Projection

Here's last year's rotation first (total minutes divided by 36.5 games)

McCamey - 34.0
Davis - 31.8
Richardson - 30.5
Tisdale - 27.6
Cole - 21.0
Paul - 18.7
Jordan - 12.4
Keller - 10.9
Griffey - 7.4
Legion - 3.0
Semrau - 1.8
Simpson - 0.5
Chisholm - 0.4

Total - 200.0

We are returning 171.0 mpg (roughly 4.25 out of 5 spots). That leaves 29.0 mpg open to divide between 4 freshmen (Richmond, Head, Leonard, and Bertrand) so the battle for playing time is going to be fierce. It's clear that returning players aren't resting on their laurels because all 4 new players have talent and are going to be trying to take their minutes. Some guys had to play more than they should have because of a lack of depth. I'm guessing that won't be a problem this year.

Here's how I think it plays out. My projection rounds to the nearest 4 mpg (TV timeout) since it's just a rough estimate and I don't want to worry about garbage time (hopefully we'll have a lot of that this year!)

*McCamey - 32 mpg
*Davis - 28 mpg
*Richardson - 28 mpg
*Tisdale - 28 mpg
*Richmond - 24 mpg
Paul - 20 mpg
Griffey - 12 mpg
Cole - 8 mpg
Head - 8 mpg
Leonard - 8 mpg
Bertrand - 4 mpg

Usually Weber will pare his rotation down to 8 or 9 guys by the end of the year. We have 7 returning players and 4 new players. 6 of the 7 are locks for the rotation with Cole being the only guy who could get squeezed out by a more talented player. However, it would be foolish to write him off too soon. Crandall Head and Joe Bertrand will both be gunning for his minutes and if they can defend and find some way to score then they might get them. I think Leonard could emerge by the end of the season and take that last rotation spot since he is a unique talent and our only true backup center. If anyone gets hurt there is plenty of depth and guys are just waiting for their chance to play. With only 4 upperclassmen on the roster, the 7 young guns will give us an exciting glimpse of future Illini basketball teams that will hope to dominate the Big Ten.