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The same goes for Illinois coach Brad Underwood. Like the Tigers, the Illini suffered an exasperating late fade last season.

SLU coach Josh Schertz just wants to reach the Big Dance, period, after his depleted team fell short during his first season on the Billikens bench.

All three coaches like what they gained through player retention, frenzied transfer portal shopping and traditional grassroots recruiting.

Gates filled needs but left room for three returning members of his 2024 recruiting class to grow. Underwood reloaded while once again exploiting the international market.

Schertz built much-needed roster depth with proven performers after enduring an injury- and illness-marred first season in the STL.

But will their puzzle pieces fit together? That process starts 鈥� or doesn鈥檛 鈥� as the teams do their summer work.

Last season, Gates went to camp with 18 players, counting walk-ons, so he had much sorting to do. This time around, he should start with a clearer vision for constructing his rotation.

The Tigers retained forward Mark Mitchell and guard Anthony Robinson II to lead the way. That was the big victory of the offseason, as these two had big value in the NIL marketplace.

While fans clamored for blockbuster additions via the transfer portal, Gates and his staff made sensible additions while building around the Mitchell/Robinson axis.

Guard Sebastian Mack can attack the basket. Center Shawn Phillips offers an upgrade over Josh Gray at center. Forward Jevon Porter adds length, scoring and rebounding. Guard Jayden Stone adds scoring depth, and big man Luke Northweather offers additional length and perimeter shooting.

But this team will test Gates鈥� ability to develop players. Incumbent forward Trent Pierce flashed potential with his shooting and passing last season, but he must defend tougher, rebound more and assert himself offensively.

Forward Jacob Crews asserts himself. There鈥檚 no issue there. The voice inside his head screams 鈥淪hoot!鈥� over and over. That aggression is welcome, but like Porter, he must become more efficient offensively.

Guard T.O. Barrett was similarly aggressive in limited duty last season, playing fearlessly as a freshman. This season, we鈥檒l get to see how much potential he possesses.

The same goes for fellow 鈥�24 recruits Annor Boateng, who hardly played last season, and 7-foot-5 Trent Burns, who didn鈥檛 play at all.

Meanwhile, the staff must also develop the freshmen, forward Nicholas Randall and guard Aaron Rowe, to keep the regional recruiting pipeline flowing.

Does this team have enough 3-point shooting? Can Gates instill better ball and player movement in his half-court offense? Can the Tigers learn to succeed when forced to play a slower pace?

Those are three questions that need answering, starting this summer.

Illinois will be a fun team to watch again this season. Like SLU star Robbie Avila, returning Illini center Tomislav Ivisic is a unique big man. From the top of the key, he hits 3-point jumpers and finds cutting teammates with sharp passes.

Mizzou fans got a look at multi-skilled forward Andrej Stojakovic when he played for California against last season. They won鈥檛 enjoy seeing him in the Braggin鈥� Rights game.

Returning guard Kylan Boswell and redshirt swing man Ty Rodgers provide toughness and glue. Imported point guard Mihailo Petrovic will take the keys to the offense and (hopefully) take fewer risks than predecessor Kasparas Jakucionis.

Ben Humrichous must shoot the ball better, and we expect he will. Last year鈥檚 3-point shooting slump was baffling. Zvonimir Ivisic and incumbent Jake Davis can add perimeter shooting off the bench while David Mirkovic can do work inside.

All in all, this is a team that should make Illini fans happy with Underwood鈥檚 contract extension. Once again, their team will be a factor in the hyper-competitive Big Ten.

By retaining Avila, rebounder Kalu Anya and promising sophomore guard Amari McCottry, Schertz got a good start on building another upper-tier Atlantic 10 team. If Kellen Thames moves past last season鈥檚 medical issues and plays, that will be all the better.

Depth is the story here. Last year, Schertz had to steal bench minutes from the likes of Dylan Warlick, who burned his redshirt year midseason to address the emergency player shortage.

Warlick is back this season to compete with an army of transfers and recruits for minutes. Guard Trey Green, Dion Brown and Quentin Jones are most interesting.

Forward Paul Otieno gives SLU an inside threat who can actually convert free throws. Brady Dunlap and Ishan Sharma are wings who could add perimeter scoring.

The Billikens added four freshmen, too, but they will be headed for a development season if the veterans perform as expected.

Year 2 of the Schertz era looks promising. This team should able to practice at a higher level, defend tougher sustain Schertz鈥檚 preferred offensive tempo.

But like we said, it鈥檚 summertime and the work has just begun.