Illinois Basketball: Transfer Ben Stanley hears from Illini
It looks like the Illinois basketball program is doing their due diligence on just about every transfer hitting the market.
Illinois has been able to bring in quite a few transfers over the years. We will have two suit up for us this year in Jacob Grandison and Austin Hutcherson. They both came in last season but had to sit out the year due to NCAA transfer rules. It looks like Illinois is trying to add a similar player to the mix in Ben Stanley as well.
According to Jeff Borzello of ESPN, Illinois, along with a couple of handfuls of other teams, all reached out to Stanley after he announced his intentions to transfer from Hampton University. It comes as no surprise that high-level DI programs are coming after this kid.
Hampton transfer Ben Stanley tells ESPN he's heard from Georgetown, Illinois, Xavier, Providence, Maryland, Oregon and a few other schools. Entered the portal yesterday.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) July 8, 2020
First-team All-Big South, averaged 22.0 points and 7.2 rebounds.
Stanley is a 6-foot-6, 225-pound forward who spent the last two seasons with the Pirates. He averaged 4.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game as a freshman. This past season, Stanley busted out and went for big numbers. He increased his stats as a sophomore to 22 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
Where would Stanley fit in on the Illinois roster?
The game Stanley brings to the table is interesting. He reminds me a lot of Roger Powell. He is an undersized forward but his shooting talent is quite good enough to be a true wing player. The physical strength makes up for the lack of size at the forward position.
Stanley actually played against Illinois this past season. The Illini came away with a 120-71 victory, but Stanley had a pretty good game. He dropped 20 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists on 9-of-18 shooting from the field. Those are pretty good numbers all things considered.
After sitting out the upcoming season, I could see Stanley making an impact in 2021. Illinois still has three scholarships left for that year, so that wouldn’t be an issue. I think Stanley coming in and being a contender for the starting No. 4 spot would be realistic. If he could put up similar numbers as he did with Hampton, there is no doubt he finds his way into the starting lineup.
Rerating every Illini recruit from the 2010s.. dark. Next
I love that the Illinois coaching staff is putting feelers out on a variety of transfers. It will be interesting to see if we can truly get involved with Stanley’s recruitment.