I'm truly going to miss Kofi. Love the guy and it was wonderful seeing his game grow and mature. I feel lucky to have gotten to watch him for three years wearing the orange and blue. Last year I thought there was maybe a 10% chance at best we'd see him not go pro, and when he entered the portal I was sure it was over, so to get an extra year with him was special. I don't think we'll see even 75% as dominant a center play for the Illini in my lifetime, if ever. Kid was amazing and I will surely miss him. I look forward to him returning to Assembly Hall for his B10 Championship ring and banner raising and wish him the absolute best of luck getting to the NBA. He has a long pro basketball career ahead of him, and I'm hoping some NBA team gives him a chance to play and he makes it impossible for them to take him off the court, similar to Ayo. But if not, he will make plenty of money overseas and be a fan favorite.
As for next year... We have some major gaps that will need to be filled, and it's going to take some time for all the new players to gel and play effectively. We will no longer have that unstoppable interior presence or the veteran leadership and defense of Trent, so I expect us to have some learning moments early in the season losing a few games that we wouldn't be expected to. I'm hoping we'll come together and be a much improved team in the 2nd half of the season, but we'll see how the players' personalities fit with each other. Obviously roster isn't set yet so still pieces to add, but as it stands now, while on paper we should have a tourney team, I think next year we're probably going to be a bubble team with chances to play ourselves in late. Maybe that's a little pessimistic, but considering all the new players, I think that's all we should expect from a team as young as we'll have. That said, if we show real improvement and start coming together by end of season, I think the following year we will have a chance of making the deep run we haven't seen since 2005. And who knows, maybe this team will exceed my expectations next year, but until the season starts, I'm just going to enjoy the pleasure I've had watching Ayo, Kofi, and Trent these past 4 years.