Illinois Basketball: Illini pursuing San Francisco transfer Charles Minlend
The Illinois basketball team has been hot and heavy in the transfer market so far this offseason.
With the departure of a couple of big-time players, the Illini will need to replenish that talent and continue building this team into a national contender. That is why we continue to pursue different transfers when they become available. The latest transfer the Orange and Blue are targeting is Charles Minlend.
Coming out of Fork Union Military Academy, Minlend was a relative unknown. He had some recruiting interest, but there was nothing from high DI programs. It didn’t help that he wasn’t rated or ranked by the recruiting sites either. But Minlend eventually would settle on San Francisco as his place to play basketball.
With the Dons, Minlend shined. He was dominant from day one. As a freshman, he averaged 10 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He would then improve on those numbers in year two with San Francisco averaging 14.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.
This past season was solid for Minlend as well. He finished his junior year averaging 14.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Those are solid numbers for DI basketball, and he will now take his talents elsewhere via the transfer market.
According to Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers, Minlend has been contacted by a variety of teams which includes the likes of Illinois, Oklahoma, Gonzaga, Arizona, UCLA, Butler and UConn, just to name a few. But there are more than that who have contacted him and the number will continue to grow.
I like Minlend as a fit for the Illini. He is a graduate transfer, so he is eligible immediately. That is a huge bonus for any team that snags him. I think he would come in and contend for a starting job at the No. 3 or No. 4 spot for Illinois. Brad Underwood likes a guard who can put up points from anywhere on the court, and that is why Minlend can do.
Illinois pursuing Minlend is a great idea. Some of the transfers have been borderline this offseason, but this isn’t one of those cases. I would welcome this kid onto the team.