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Illinois Basketball: Illini in final three for grad transfer TJ Holyfield

By Rees Woodcock

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Jarrett Culver #23 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders is blocked by TJ Holyfield #22 of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in the second half in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Jarrett Culver #23 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders is blocked by TJ Holyfield #22 of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in the second half in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Some big transfer news came down the pipeline today for the Illinois basketball team.

Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported that Stephen F. Austin graduate transfer TJ Holyfield is down to Kansas, Texas Tech and Illinois for where he will be playing basketball this upcoming season. This is huge news for the Illini who needed it after losing Antwan January on Sunday.

Holyfield was  6-foot-8, 227-pound power forward coming out of Manzano High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico when he was being recruited for the class of 2015. He wasn’t rated or ranked by 247Sports but ended up committing to Stephen F. Austin.

The Lumberjacks got a good one in Holyfield. He averaged 7.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game during his freshman season. He upped those numbers to 11.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks during his sophomore campaign. During his junior season, Holyfield put up 12.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

This past season, Holyfield had to sit out the entire year because of a shoulder injury. He is now looking for a new home and is down to three teams. He took visits to both Kansas and Texas Tech over the past two weeks. He will be visiting Illinois on Wednesday to finish off his recruitment, according to Goodman.

This is good news for the Illini. Brad Underwood has a scholarship open again, and he originally recruited Holyfield when he was the head coach at Stephen F. Austin. That means he would likely be a good fit in his system. I am curious how Holyfield will be used, though.

It is great to see this Illinois coaching staff have a plan since January backed away from his commitment. Holyfield would be a nice piece to this Illini team. His 54.8-percent shooting from the field and solid free throw shooting is exciting. I also like the fact he can pull down rebounds and play defense. That is something Illinois struggles at as well.

Next. Antwan January backs away from Illini commitment. dark

I think we could possibly land a commitment in the next week. Holyfield would be a good addition to this team. Hopefully, he can fill that one scholarship spot.

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