A way-too-early look at Illinois’ depth chart

It’s been an eventful week for the Illini.

Wednesday was the deadline for early draft entrants to choose to stay in the draft or return to school. Thanks to big NIL offers, more enticing over possible second-round contracts, the Illini convinced both Terrence Shannon Jr. and Coleman Hawkins to come back for one more season.

Shannon Jr. was an All-Big Ten First Team player last season, while Hawkins started the entire season as a junior. The Illini’s floor and ceiling both rose exponentially with their returns.

Thursday brought unfortunate news, as RayJ Dennis, MAC Player of the Year, an Illinois native, and reported transfer target of the Illini at point guard, committed to Baylor instead. The Illini quickly pivoted to Jeremiah Williams, a point guard from Temple who missed all of last season with Iowa State due to an Achilles tear. With that, the Illini gave out their final scholarship for the 2023-24 season (there is still one walk-on spot open). There is some…