Illinois Basketball: Illini target after missing on Quincy Guerrier
Thursday brought on some bad news for the Illinois basketball program, as we missed out on one of the top transfers in the portal.
It was my hope that Illinois would end up landing Syracuse transfer, Quincy Guerrier, but that wasn’t the case. He would cut his list down to four programs back on May 12 and then on Thursday, Guerrier announced that we would be joining the Oregon Ducks for the upcoming season.
Losing out on Guerrier for the second time kind of stings. It would have been nice to add another player who averaged 13.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game to the roster, but that didn’t happen. Illinois is now going to have to look elsewhere to fill the final couple of spots for the upcoming season.
Who is still out there for the Illinois basketball team to snag?
I think the obvious answer is the best transfer out on the market today. Tre Mitchell is looking for a new home after spending two successful seasons with UMass. The 6-foot-9 big man averaged 18.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.2 steals per game last season.
Much like Guerrier, Illinois is also on Mitchell’s top list. He narrowed his decision down to just six teams on May 14. The six programs vying for his commitment include LSU, Georgia, Texas, Bryant, Florida State and Illinois. The Illini were in the discussion for Mitchell when he was originally being recruited, but maybe the second time is a charm.
As far as transfers go, Mitchell seems to be it for right now. There is always a chance another transfer pops up, but Mitchell should be the No. 1 target for the Illini.
Next. Brandin Podziemski already an Illini fan favorite. dark
If you look at the 2021 class, there really isn’t a hot target for Illinois. If I had to guess, it might end up being Mitchell or nothing for the Illini the rest of the way out. We can just move that scholarship to 2022 and continue building for the future. That is how I see things as of right now.