With only three players leaving so far, Illinois was already well-positioned to build on this season’s success. Now, the Illini add another long guard to their lineup with 5-foot-11 freshman Divine Bourrage, as announced Thursday by Kedric Prince on X.
Bourrage played in 24 games at LSU and averaged 2.1 points and 1.7 rebounds. Despite the rising sophomore’s limited action, the addition of Bourrage addresses Illinois’ need for more versatility at the guard position. When redshirt sophomore Gretchen Dolan went out with a torn meniscus in February, Illinois’ backcourt rotation thinned to freshman guard Destiny Jackson, sophomore guard Aaliyah Guyton, junior guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger and junior guard Maddie Webber.
Before this season, head coach Shauna Green emphasized the positives of intentionally going after long guards.
“The versatility of everyone… we can throw some different combos,” Green said during Big Ten media day. “We could go really big, we could go really long. We could throw, really, five people out there that are essentially guards, but they’re tall.”
This approach worked out well for Illinois this season. Green previously added Webber from Villanova, who became Illinois’ sixth player and fourth leading scorer. The length and motor that Webber added powered Illinois to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament and the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
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Bourrage was a three-level scorer in high school and a five-star recruit coming into college. She also already has experience coming off the bench for a Power 5 team. On this younger Illinois team, she may be able to carve out a larger role. That depth and versatility in the backcourt could be the key to pushing Illinois farther into the postseason in the coming years as it gains more experience.
@briedirl
