Illinois Basketball: Illini have 2 of the top 100 players in the transfer portal

The Illinois basketball team has been smack dab in the middle of the transfer portal talks this offseason.

When it comes to the transfer portal, the Illini have been positively and negatively affected by what has happened since the 2021-22 campaign has come to an end.

Right off the bat, Illinois lost their point guard Andre Curbelo. Big man Omar Payne was the next domino to fall. Brandin Podziemski and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk would soon follow Curbelo and Payne into the great unknown of the transfer portal.

But the transfer portal hasn’t been all bad for the Orange and Blue. Brad Underwood has adjusted nicely to what appears to be the new normal in the college basketball world. The Illini have been in the conversation for numerous transfers and have actually landed two pretty important pieces.

Dain Dainja joined the Illini program via the transfer portal late in 2021. He hasn’t suited up yet, but Dainja is going to be an option at the No. 5 spot. The other transfer Illinois added was Terrence Shannon Jr. He picked the Illini within the past week, and now Underwood has another great shooting wing to use this upcoming season.

Illinois basketball has their two newcomers inside the top 100 transfer portal players.

With so many names in the transfer portal, it is hard to keep track of who has entered and who has already committed. It is also hard to gauge the talent of each of the transfers.

Travis Branham of 247Sports managed to rank the top 100 transfer portal players this offseason. His top 100 has many names you should know, and it also includes the two transfers Illinois has been able to pull into the mix.

Before this top 100 was published, everyone pretty much knew that Shannon was a top player in the transfer portal. Branham has him listed as the No. 22 transfer in the country. That isn’t too far off of where I would have him. I think somewhere between 10-15 would be better.

If you head down further on the rankings, you will also find Dainja. He checks in at No. 80 on Branham’s top 100 transfer portal players. This kind of comes as a surprise purely based on the fact we haven’t seen Dainja play much college basketball. He also barely cracked the top 100 in the 247Sports composite rankings in 2020.

Only one of the four players Illinois had transfer out of the program made the top 100. Curbelo is the No. 50 player in the transfer portal. That is probably about where I would have him. He clearly has a ton of potential but the numbers aren’t there to put him much higher.

The transfer portal has been an interesting animal this offseason. The fact Underwood and the Illini coaching staff are keeping up is impressive. Look for Illinois to continue being aggressive in their pursuit to add at least one more transfer this offseason.