Illinois Basketball: Illini land wild card guard from transfer portal

Illinois basketball is finally on the board when it comes to the transfer portal.

This offseason has been chaotic for the Illini, to say the least. We have had multiple players head to the NBA, players graduate, and there have been three players depart to the transfer portal. It is an offseason, so far, that I would like to forget.

But, on Friday night, Illinois fans got a little taste of what it felt like to land a player from the transfer portal. This is something that other programs are experiencing, but finally, we are on the board.

Keaton Kutcher took to social media on Friday night to announce that he was committing to Illinois. After spending time at South Dakota, Kutcher wanted to find a new home, and Champaign is his landing spot.

Illinois basketball is getting a wild card out of the transfer portal in Keaton Kutcher

Kutcher spent two seasons with the Coyotes and didn’t see a ton of playing time. As a freshman, he played in 11 games and averaged 2.5 points and 1.0 rebounds per contest. This past season, he would see action in 14 games and averaged 2.5 points and 0.2 rebounds per game.

Is Kutcher one of the big names in the transfer portal who everyone is eyeing? No, not by any means. But that doesn’t mean he can’t help the Illini win some games. I think we have a wild card  6-foot-2 guard on our hands.

There is an area that sticks out to me when it comes to Kutcher’s game. He seems to be a capable three-point shooter. He improved his three-point shooting from 37.5% as a freshman to 60% as a sophomore. What makes him a wild card is the fact he only took 31 three-pointers during his career. Illinois could be getting an ace three-point shooter, but the sample size is too small.

Kutcher was a decorated player coming out of Mt. Vernon High School in Iowa. My biggest question on this kid is; why didn’t he see more time at South Dakota? Why didn’t he play more and, in fact, he saw his minutes reduced from freshman to sophomore year?

There are some things we will figure out down the road, but for now, I am excited to get a piece of the puzzle for next season. Kutcher is a wild card at this point, and I can’t wait to see what he can do for the Orange and Blue.