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Let's continue with my countdown of my 30 favorite Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players of my fandom, spanning from the 1996-97 season until present day. Here are numbers 30-13.
- #30 Morez Johnson Jr.
- #29 Marcus Arnold.
- #28 Matthew Mayer.
- #27 Kevin Turner.
- #26 Mike Davis.
- #25 Trent Frazier.
- #24 D.J. Richardson.
- #23 Tyler Griffey.
- #22 Will Riley.
- #21 Dain Dainja.
- #20 Jack Ingram.
- #19 Marcus Domask.
- #18 Tomislav Ivisic.
- #17 Robert Archibald.
- #16 Brandon Paul.
- #15 Frankie Williams.
- #14 Marcus Griffin.
- #13 Sergio McClain.
For as long as I can remember, I have always had an affinity for smaller guards who can fill it up off the bench and score from deep, defense be damned or optional, with Ben Gordon one of my favorite Chicago Bulls' of all-time.
With this in mind, my 12th favorite Illinois men's basketball player of my 30-year fandom is Alfonso Plummer, a microwave scorer who certainly lit it up during his one and only season, the 2021-22 campaign, in Champaign.
After getting upset by Loyola in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament and then losing freshman guard Adam Miller to the transfer portal that offseason, I was starting to worry about the Fighting Illini
My fears were assuaged a bit when I saw Illinois secure a commitment from Plummer, a 6'1'' guard from the University of Utah. I had actually caught some of the previous season's Pac-12 Tournament, coming away very impressed with Plummer during a game against Oregon State. Plummer caught fire, hitting a Pac-12 record 11 threes and scoring 35 points. When I saw Illinois grab Plummer in the portal, I thought to myself, "Now that is a sneaky good get."
Of course, Plummer's value would not be seen right away during the 2021-22 season. I actually attended the Illinois vs. Marquette game in Milwaukee early that year as my family had rented a house that weekend to celebrate my 40th birthday. My brother went to Marquette and lives just outside of Milwaukee. After years of us waiting for our alma maters to play each other, the Illini and Golden Eagles finally squared off in the Big Ten/Big East Gavitt Tip Off Games.
Ultimately, Illinois would blow this game to Marquette, with Kofi Cockburn out due to suspension, point guard Andre Curbelo having a maddening game, and Plummer barely playing off the bench and scoring just two points on three shots.
As we left that game, I turned to a cousin, a huge Illini fan, and said something to the effect that, "We need to get this Plummer kid involved. He is really good." I am not sure he believed me about Plummer.
Plummer would quickly show how good he was as Curbelo would miss a large portion of the season with a mysterious concussion. Eventually sliding into the starting lineup, Plummer and fifth-year senior Trent Frazier, now a point guard, saved Illinois this season, in my humble opinion.
After getting embarrassed by Cincinnati during a Thanksgiving week tournament game, Illinois was looking bad against Bruce Weber's Kansas State team the following night when Plummer hit 7-of-9 threes off the bench to lift the Illini and avoid a three-game losing streak. Plummer then followed up with five consecutive games of at least 20 points, including 30 points against UTRGV, 21 against Notre Dame, 24 against Rutgers, 21 at Iowa and 25 during a tough but very fun home loss to Arizona.
For the rest of the season, Plummer continued to snipe from three, one of the more captivating Illini to watch get on heaters. Plummer ended up making 98 threes during his one season with Illinois, punctuating each make with a bow-and-arrow salute and usually a big smile on his face.
Plummer got so hot so often that season that all of his sizzling shooting performances started to blur together. Plummer especially caught fire during a late season game in Ann Arbor, hitting six threes and scoring 26 points during a victory against Michigan. The game before, Plummer hit eight threes during a tough home loss to Ohio State. Plummer's shooting nearly helped Illinois upset Purdue during a classic game on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Entering the 2022 NCAA Tournament as a four-seed, Illinois looked dead in the water during a first-round game against Chattanooga, seemingly having a hangover from last season's tourney loss to Loyola Chicago. On this night, Plummer was one of the few Illini players to play well, scoring 15 points as Illinois somehow pulled out a win it did not deserve.
Illinois would lose to Houston during the second round, with Plummer struggling to find his shot but hitting a big four-point play to keep the Illini alive during the second half. As disappointing as that loss was, I might have been more disappointed knowing that Plummer had no more college eligibily left; that's how much I enjoyed his year at Illinois.
Ultimately, Plummer was a true revelation for the '21-22 Illini team whose season could have gone off the rails without Curbelo. Thanks to the small backcourt of Frazier and Plummer, Illinois was able to stay above water despite early-season struggles and ultimately have a very fun, entertaining and rewarding season.
While his time in the Orange and Blue was brief, Plummer certainly made it worthwhile, shooting the lights out and being an ultimate irrational confidence flame thrower!
For my money, the 2021-22 version of Plummer is up there with 2004-05 Luther Head, Dee Brown and Deron Williams in terms of the greatest Illini snipers, with the deeper and tougher the shot, the more likely it was going in!
With this in mind, my 12th favorite Illinois men's basketball player of my 30-year fandom is Alfonso Plummer, a microwave scorer who certainly lit it up during his one and only season, the 2021-22 campaign, in Champaign.
After getting upset by Loyola in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament and then losing freshman guard Adam Miller to the transfer portal that offseason, I was starting to worry about the Fighting Illini
My fears were assuaged a bit when I saw Illinois secure a commitment from Plummer, a 6'1'' guard from the University of Utah. I had actually caught some of the previous season's Pac-12 Tournament, coming away very impressed with Plummer during a game against Oregon State. Plummer caught fire, hitting a Pac-12 record 11 threes and scoring 35 points. When I saw Illinois grab Plummer in the portal, I thought to myself, "Now that is a sneaky good get."
Of course, Plummer's value would not be seen right away during the 2021-22 season. I actually attended the Illinois vs. Marquette game in Milwaukee early that year as my family had rented a house that weekend to celebrate my 40th birthday. My brother went to Marquette and lives just outside of Milwaukee. After years of us waiting for our alma maters to play each other, the Illini and Golden Eagles finally squared off in the Big Ten/Big East Gavitt Tip Off Games.
Ultimately, Illinois would blow this game to Marquette, with Kofi Cockburn out due to suspension, point guard Andre Curbelo having a maddening game, and Plummer barely playing off the bench and scoring just two points on three shots.
As we left that game, I turned to a cousin, a huge Illini fan, and said something to the effect that, "We need to get this Plummer kid involved. He is really good." I am not sure he believed me about Plummer.
Plummer would quickly show how good he was as Curbelo would miss a large portion of the season with a mysterious concussion. Eventually sliding into the starting lineup, Plummer and fifth-year senior Trent Frazier, now a point guard, saved Illinois this season, in my humble opinion.
After getting embarrassed by Cincinnati during a Thanksgiving week tournament game, Illinois was looking bad against Bruce Weber's Kansas State team the following night when Plummer hit 7-of-9 threes off the bench to lift the Illini and avoid a three-game losing streak. Plummer then followed up with five consecutive games of at least 20 points, including 30 points against UTRGV, 21 against Notre Dame, 24 against Rutgers, 21 at Iowa and 25 during a tough but very fun home loss to Arizona.
For the rest of the season, Plummer continued to snipe from three, one of the more captivating Illini to watch get on heaters. Plummer ended up making 98 threes during his one season with Illinois, punctuating each make with a bow-and-arrow salute and usually a big smile on his face.
Plummer got so hot so often that season that all of his sizzling shooting performances started to blur together. Plummer especially caught fire during a late season game in Ann Arbor, hitting six threes and scoring 26 points during a victory against Michigan. The game before, Plummer hit eight threes during a tough home loss to Ohio State. Plummer's shooting nearly helped Illinois upset Purdue during a classic game on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Entering the 2022 NCAA Tournament as a four-seed, Illinois looked dead in the water during a first-round game against Chattanooga, seemingly having a hangover from last season's tourney loss to Loyola Chicago. On this night, Plummer was one of the few Illini players to play well, scoring 15 points as Illinois somehow pulled out a win it did not deserve.
Illinois would lose to Houston during the second round, with Plummer struggling to find his shot but hitting a big four-point play to keep the Illini alive during the second half. As disappointing as that loss was, I might have been more disappointed knowing that Plummer had no more college eligibily left; that's how much I enjoyed his year at Illinois.
Ultimately, Plummer was a true revelation for the '21-22 Illini team whose season could have gone off the rails without Curbelo. Thanks to the small backcourt of Frazier and Plummer, Illinois was able to stay above water despite early-season struggles and ultimately have a very fun, entertaining and rewarding season.
While his time in the Orange and Blue was brief, Plummer certainly made it worthwhile, shooting the lights out and being an ultimate irrational confidence flame thrower!
For my money, the 2021-22 version of Plummer is up there with 2004-05 Luther Head, Dee Brown and Deron Williams in terms of the greatest Illini snipers, with the deeper and tougher the shot, the more likely it was going in!
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