Illinois Basketball: Illini land Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer

Huge news for the Illinois basketball team dropped on Friday night as another transfer picked the Orange and Blue.

The Illini had already landed a huge transfer commitment in Terrence Shannon Jr. within the last month. He is a guard who can light up the scoreboard and has a winning pedigree coming from Texas Tech. But Brad Underwood wasn’t done in the transfer portal. He had another big fish to catch.

On Friday night, various news sources reported that Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer has decided to exit the transfer portal and commit to the Illini. This is a huge pledge for Underwood and Co., and it is one that will help the program get to the pinnacle of the college basketball world.

Coming out of Austin, Texas, Mayer was a four-star recruit and a top 100 player who picked his home state team, Baylor. The talented wing played four seasons with the Bears and had his best go this past year when he averaged 9.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game.

Illinois basketball is getting a great perimeter player who can stretch the floor with Matthew Mayer.

I am excited about the addition of Mayer for various reasons. One of the main reasons is the fact he can shoot the three-point shot.

Yes, I realize Mayer hit just 32.4% from distance this past season, but I feel like that could be an outlier. The two years prior, he managed to hit 39.5% and 37.8% from distance. I believe he can be a big-time scorer for the Illini.

Mayer also gives Illinois another experienced player who knows how to win in the NCAA tournament. Baylor just won the national title a couple of years ago, so Mayer knows how to get to the top. That is important for the younger guys on the team.

This is massive news for Illinois basketball. Mayer is a top-level player and is someone who can help this program win games. Let’s not just win this season, let’s get our first national championship.