Illinois Basketball: 5 transfers that would help the Illini

Feb 4, 2017; Morgantown, WV, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Brad Underwood celebrates with fans after beating the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2017; Morgantown, WV, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Brad Underwood celebrates with fans after beating the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
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Illinois basketball
Feb 4, 2017; Morgantown, WV, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Brad Underwood celebrates with fans after beating the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

The Illinois basketball team has a decent roster returning for new head coach Brad Underwood.

This roster will consist of players that were already on the team and players coming from the No. 9 ranked class of 2017. All of these players will form a squad that will be feared in the Big Ten for years to come.

But, Illinois needs to fill a few holes that could be glaring come November. These holes are important to fill because if Underwood doesn’t have another player or two the team could struggle at times.

I am not a huge fan of the graduate transfer or transfers in general for that matter. I think during the previous regime they relied too much on transfers to be the starters and that was the ultimate downfall. Usually, if a player is not getting the minutes with a lower level team they aren’t going to be starters with a Big Ten program.

Even though I am not a fan of starting a transfer, I am a fan of getting them to fill some reserve roles on the team. This means if Illinois needs a backup at a certain position then they can go for a graduate transfer to fill that hole.

This upcoming season and into the future, center Jeremiah Tilmon will need a backup. He won’t be able to play all 40 minutes so he needs someone to spell some time.

Here are five possible transfers to fill the missing roles on the Illinois basketball team.