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Illinois Basketball: 5 options for the Illini in the transfer portal 2.0

By Rees Woodcock

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood watches from the baseline during a NCAA Big Ten Conference men's basketball game against Iowa, Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.211206 Ill Iowa Mbb 034 Jpg
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood watches from the baseline during a NCAA Big Ten Conference men's basketball game against Iowa, Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.211206 Ill Iowa Mbb 034 Jpg /
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Mar 18, 2022; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Caleb Grill (2) defends against LSU Tigers guard Brandon Murray (0) in the first half during the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2022; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Caleb Grill (2) defends against LSU Tigers guard Brandon Murray (0) in the first half during the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Brandon Murray

Illinois is going to be missing some serious guard production this upcoming season. Trent Frazier is the biggest piece that is going to be missing, but someone like Brandon Murray could fill that void in the lineup.

Murray was a four-star recruit coming out of IMG Academy in 2021. He was ranked as the No. 82 player in the class of 2021 and the No. 18 shooting guard in the nation. He was also the No. 17 player in the state of Florida.

After just about every team in the country offered Murray, he decided to pick LSU as his landing spot. As a true freshman, Murray performed well. He averaged 10.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. His shooting numbers aren’t great at 42.6% from the field, 33.6% from three-point range, and 67.7% from the free throw line, but he was just a freshman. There is so much room for him to grow.

LSU has had some issues in the past year or so, and this caused the program to fire their head coach. That opened the door for many Tigers’ players to transfer.

Since Murray announced he was transferring, there have been various programs that have checked in with him including Illinois. I think it might be a little difficult to land Murray, but he is a very interesting transfer. He can light up the scoreboard, which is what I love.

Hopefully, Illinois can make some waves in this transfer recruitment. Murray would be a great addition to the program, and he has three years of eligibility left.

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