Illinois Basketball: Illini eyeing Wichita State transfer Jamarius Burton
The Illinois basketball team isn’t done filling out their roster for the future.
On Monday morning, Corey Evans of Rivals.com reported that Wichita State transfer Jamarius Burton has heard from various programs since announcing his intent to depart the program. The teams who have contacted Burton included Pittsburgh, UConn, Butler, West Virginia, Xavier, Marquette, Maryland, Seton Hall, Arizona, Virginia Tech, Dayton, Arizona State and Illinois.
Burton was a 6-foot-5, 195-pound combo-guard coming out of Independence High School in the class of 2018. He was rated as a three-star recruit who was the No. 408 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 32 combo-guard in the nation. He was also the No. 24 player in the state of North Carolina.
There were quite a few lower-level programs pursuing Burton originally. Some of the bigger teams included Temple, Butler and Wichita State. He would eventually pick the Shockers as his destination.
Since his transfer last week, Wichita State guard Jamarius Burton has heard from Xavier, Marquette, Maryland, Seton Hall, Arizona, Virginia Tech , Arizona State, Dayton ,West Virginia, Butler, UConn, Illinois, and Pitt, amongst others, a source tells @RivalsPortal
— Corey Evans (@coreyevans_10) March 16, 2020
Burton has been a big-time contributor on Wichita State’s team. He came in as a freshman and averaged 24.1 minutes, 6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. This past season was even better. He checked in with 27.1 minutes, 10.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest. Those are some solid numbers.
A new team will be receiving Burton. He would be a great pickup for any of these programs who are eyeing him. For the Illini, adding someone like Burton would be big considering how much talent we will need to replenish for 2021-2022.
Burton is going to have to sit out a year due to NCAA transfer rules. That means the first season he can play would be 2021-2022. I have Illinois with 10 scholarships filled for that season. Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn would be the two underclassmen who would depart by then.
So, with Ayo out of the picture and Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams graduating, we are going to need more guard help. That is where Burton would come into the picture. We could slot him right into a starting guard spot on the team. This would give the program a much-needed boost.
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The fact Illinois is in contact with such a talented player is exciting. I am curious to see if we can get into the running for his commitment. I trust what Brad Underwood is doing. That is why I am open to having transfers come aboard.