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Illinois Basketball: Top transfer targets the Illini pursuing 2.0

By Rees Woodcock

COLLEGE PARK, MD - DECEMBER 07: A view of the Nike shoes worn by Alan Griffin #0 of the Illinois Fighting Illini with the words Have Fun written on the side during the first half of the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on December 7, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - DECEMBER 07: A view of the Nike shoes worn by Alan Griffin #0 of the Illinois Fighting Illini with the words Have Fun written on the side during the first half of the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on December 7, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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BOISE, ID – JANUARY 08: Guard Justinian Jessup #3 of the Boise State Broncos drives into the key around the defense of guard Jonah Antonio #10 of the UNLV Rebels during first half action at ExtraMile Arena on January 08, 2020 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images)
BOISE, ID – JANUARY 08: Guard Justinian Jessup #3 of the Boise State Broncos drives into the key around the defense of guard Jonah Antonio #10 of the UNLV Rebels during first half action at ExtraMile Arena on January 08, 2020 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images) /

4. Jonah Antonio

Getting some depth behind the starters for the Orange and Blue should be a priority moving forward. We need players who can come off the bench and make an impact. That could be what Brad Underwood is thinking by pursuing Jonah Antonio.

Antonio wasn’t being strongly recruiting coming out of high school. He landed with Mount St. Mary’s for his first two years in college. He redshirted in year one, though. He then transferred out and played for South Pains College for a year. Last season, he committed and played for UNLV.

With the Rebels, Antonio played in 25 games and averaged 22 minutes per contest. He finished the season averaging 6.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. His shooting wasn’t nearly as good as it should have been, though. He was known to be a good shooter coming out of the high school ranks, but Antonio only managed to hit 31.5-percent of his three-point shots last season.

There hasn’t been an update on Antonio in the last week. But the last information that came out has him with a list of suiters that includes Missouri, Maryland, Xavier and Illinois, among others. There are a lot of big teams after this kid.

Honestly, Antonio’s shooting worries me. I know we would only have him for a year and he would be eligible immediately, but I need to see a better history of making shots. At best, I see this kid as a backup.

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