Brad Underwood and the Illinois basketball program are exploring all options in the transfer portal.
Since the offseason started, the Illini are -2 in the transfer portal. We haven’t been able to land a transfer recruit just yet, and both Andre Curbelo and Omar Payne decide to bolt for greener pastures.
But things haven’t been doom and gloom by any means. A commitment from five-star point guard Skyy Clark from the class of 2022 doesn’t hurt, and Illinois is in the running for a myriad of other transfer portal recruits who are looking for a new home.
One of those transfers is a familiar name in Courtney Ramey. Coming out of St. Louis, Missouri in the class of 2018, Ramey had the Illini on his radar. We made his top 10, and the potential to pair him up with Ayo Dosunmu was intriguing. But Ramey didn’t see it that way, and he would ultimately pick Texas as his landing spot.
After four years with Texas, Ramey is looking for a new program to finish up his final year of eligibility. According to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports and College Hoops Today, Ramey is receiving interest from a number of programs. He also mentions that Illinois is showing “significant interest” in the talented guard.
Texas transfer Courtney Ramey is also receiving significant interest from Illinois, per his father. https://t.co/yRVlJR5hHC
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 7, 2022
Courtney Ramey would add to an already loaded Illinois basketball backcourt.
Now that Illinois has landed Clark for next season, I am not sure how much interest they still actually have in Ramey. It wouldn’t make too much sense to bring in Ramey with the point guard position already full.
But, if we did land the Texas transfer, the Illini backcourt would be loaded. Illinois already has Clark, Jayden Epps, Luke Goode, Brandin Podziemski, Sencire Harris, Austin Hutcherson, and RJ Melendez, if you consider him a guard.
That is a lot of high-level talent at the No. 1 through No. 3 spots. I truly believe Illinois has one of the best backcourts in college basketball right now. Adding Ramey would only make us stronger.
I think the best thing Ramey would bring to the Illini would be his veteran leadership. He could be a solid presence off the bench. I don’t want him starting because I want the players who have been with us to get the starting nod. The starting backcourt should look something like this; No. 1 Clark, No. 2 Goode, No. 3 Podziemski.
It would be great to land Ramey. I would have him as the primary backup at the No. 1 guard spot. He would get something like 15-20 minutes per game rotating in at the No. 1, No. 2, or No. 3 spots. Ramey is a versatile player who can help this team.