What's next for Illinois basketball? Transfer portal, NBA, recruiting and more
The Illinois basketball program ascended to national prominence again this season with a run to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight. The Illini won 29 games, won the Big Ten Conference tournament, and advanced it to the second weekend of March Madness for the first time since 2005.
So what's next? From graduation losses, the transfer portal, incoming recruits and players headed to the NBA, we take a look at what is to come for the Illini.
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Illinois basketball in the NCAA transfer portal
Coach Brad Underwood and his staff deftly navigated the NCAA transfer portal to bring in Marcus Domask (Southern Illinois), Quincy Guerrier (Oregon), Dain Dainja (Baylor) and Justin Harmon (Utah Valley) to complement returning stars Terrence Shannon Jr. and Coleman Hawkins. Even Shannon had come to Illinois from the portal via Texas Tech.
Coleman announced Saturday he played his final game in an Illini uniform and Dainja announced Monday he is entering the transfer portal. That means only two regular rotation players remain: Luke Goode and Ty Rodgers, who will join redshirt Sencire Harris and freshmen Amani Hansberry, Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn and Nico Moretti as key returnees for 2024-25.
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The Illini also will bring in three high schoolers including northern California's top player Jase Butler and in-state recruits Morez Johnson (Harvey Thornton) and Jason Jakstys (Yorkville) — a recruiting class ranked in the top 20 by 247Sports and Rivals.
As for the portal, Underwood and his staff will again dip in and help fill the losses.
"This is a great program," Underwood said after the UConn loss. "We're getting guys like (Domask) out of the portal. We're getting guys like (Hawkins) out of high school. We've got another great recruiting class. We'll continue to add guys we want.
"I guess are you asking should we slip? Shame on you. You've been around me five years. Hell, we're not going anywhere."
Illinois basketball players headed to the NBA
Illini stars Terrence Shannon Jr. and Coleman Hawkins are among those projected as NBA draft picks by multiple sources. Here's a look at both, their stats and where they are slated to be selected as of March 31, 2024, according to various mock drafts:
Terrence Shannon Jr.
The numbers: 6-foot-6, 22-pound guard, averaged 23.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists in 2023-24.
Projected: No. 10 overall to Atlanta (nbadraft.net); 14th overall to New Orleans (BleacherReport.com); 20th overall to New York (Kyle Boone of CBS Sports); 25th overall to Washington (tankathon.com); 32nd overall to Utah (theringer.com).
Coleman Hawkins
The numbers: 6-foot-10, 230 pounds, averaged 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists in 2023-24.
Projected: No. 54 overall to Indiana (nbadraft.net); 49th overall to Sacramento (BleacherReport.com and theringer.com).
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Illinois basketball roster analysis: Transfer portal, recruits, NBA players
