Illinois Basketball: Illini guard Adam Miller enters transfer portal

If Illinois basketball fans didn’t think things could get any worse after losing in the Round of 32 in the NCAA tournament, well you should buckle up for this devastating news.

On Thursday afternoon, just about every media outlet reported that Illini guard Adam Miller had entered his name into the transfer portal. This is news that sent shockwaves through the Illini Nation fanbase.

This past season, Miller got the starting nod in the Illinois lineup as a true freshman. The former four-star recruit averaged 25.5 minutes in each contest and ended up dropping 8.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

What does the Illinois basketball program do now?

Honestly, I still haven’t recovered from losing to Loyola-Chicago. I have been completely disengaged from the NCAA tournament since that loss. I just needed some time to heal, but I couldn’t even get that.

Miller transferring doesn’t make any sense right now. He was going to be handed the keys to the program this upcoming season since Ayo Dosunmu would be departing. This was going to be his squad to take to the top.

Now Illinois is missing a huge piece to the puzzle. Instead of having a dynamic duo of Andre Curbelo and Adam Miller, the Magician will instead be looking for a running mate. There are some options out there who haven’t committed, though.

A couple of players who come to mind are Nimari Burnett and Tyty Washington. Burnett is transferring from Texas Tech and is originally from the Chicago area. He would be a great option as a former five-star recruit. Washington recently reopened his recruitment and is looking for a new home. He is closer to a No. 1 guard but having Washington and Curbelo as a starting backcourt would be dangerously good.

Illinois is now looking for answers as one of their biggest pieces has decided to seek other options. Brad Underwood is going to do some impressive recruiting work this offseason to stabilize this program.