For the last two seasons, Jermaine Hamlin’s role on the Fighting Illini was to relieve the big men when they get into foul trouble, and to eat up minutes at the end of blowout wins. Because of the team’s roster depth this year, Hamlin saw a slightly reduced role in his sophomore season compared to his freshman campaign.
As a freshman, Hamlin saw the court 16 times, compared to only eight this year. In 2019-20, he played in eight Big Ten games, but the majority of his minutes came in the non-conference schedule. In his best game, he played 12 minutes against D-II Lindenwood going 3-for-3 with 8 points.