The Matic Vesel experience at Illinois lasted only 70 minutes of floor time.

The Slovenian freshman, a late addition to the Class of 2017, has left the Illini basketball program after just one season, a team source confirmed to IlliniInquirer.

Vesel has returned to Slovenia, where he will finish up his classes this semester, and he will pursue other opportunities.

The thin, raw freshman post player played just 70 minutes last season, totaling seven points, seven rebounds, 13 fouls, five assists and five turnovers. Vesel played only 37 minutes over 10 Big Ten games, averaging 0.5 points. He made just two field goals all season.

Vesel was a member of the Slovenian National Team that competed in the FIBA U20 European Championships last July. He also played for the Helios Suns in the Slovenian League during the 2016-17 season.

This marks the third frontcourt player to leave from last year's team, as Leron Black announced his intentions to go pro and Michael Finke will play his fifth year elsewhere as a grad transfer. That leaves Greg Eboigbodin as the only returning player taller than 6-foot-6 on next season's roster. Mark Smith (Missouri) and Te'Jon Lucas (UW-Milwaukee) also left the team this offseason.



The latest exit sets the Illini up with two open scholarships for next season.

Earlier this month, Brad Underwood announced five spring signees -- Andres Feliz, Alan Griffin, Tevian Jones, Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Samba Kane -- to go along with five-star guard Ayo Dosunmu in the 2018 class. And the roster makeover for next season isn't stopping there.



Illinois is still in pursuit of former Pittsburgh signee Bryce Golden, who took an official visit to Champaign late last week. The Illini are in consideration for 2018 three-star power forward Maurice Calloo from Oak Hill Academy as well. According to Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com, Calloo plans to take an unofficial visit to Illinois soon. He was planning to visit St. John's this week, but that trip was cancelled.

Top-50 big man Francis Okoro is also firmly in the mix. The Normal West product looks to be clearly trending towards making a move to the 2018 class. Okoro began an official visit at Purdue on Wednesday. He took an official visit to Oregon late last month. Underwood, Jamall Walker and Orlando Antigua conducted an in-home visit with Okoro nearly two weeks ago, and the Illini will push to get a visit on campus as early as next week.

Piper's take

Vesel was hardly on the court as a freshman, and when he was, he hardly looked like he belonged. The 6-foot-9 forward came with some raw tools, but they were hard to see based on how far away he was physically. At best, Vesel was a project who needed another year or two of development just to give himself a chance in the Big Ten. There were no guarantees that he would get there, and while Bezhanishvili and Kane may be projects themselves, the available evidence points to those two as more promising prospects with much higher floors.

It's not ideal to bring back one player taller than 6-foot-6. But transition in the frontcourt, particularly at the defensive end, can do this team some good. The Illini allowed opponents to shoot 71.5 percent at the rim this past season. That interior lacked athleticism and strength.

Is a frontcourt of Eboigbodin, Bezhanishvili and Kane an upgrade in that particular area? Kane makes that group more athletic, and he will provide rim protection. But he is thin and could very well struggle with foul trouble like most freshmen bigs. Offensively, there will be major question marks at the five spot. But the Illini can relieve some of that with more shooters on the perimeter and an ability to play four-guard lineups due to their length on the wing.

Illinois would love to close the class with Okoro and Golden. That would change the frontcourt from a depth perspective, while also elevating the level of expected impact. It's hard to say Vesel's presence, or lack thereof, would have moved the needle much either way.

Ultimately, taking Vesel was a low-risk roll of the dice for the Illini late in the 2017 class. It didn't work out. The Orange Krush had a fun name to say for a year, but there will be others to latch onto next season