Adding more future talent to the Illinois basketball team via the transfer portal is never a bad idea.
The Illini have done a good job this offseason replacing some of the talented players who have departed the program. I think we have had three scholarship players leave through the transfer portal, two depart to the NBA, and one who graduated and is going to the NBA.
That is a lot to replace, but landing players like Justin Harmon and Marcus Domask help tremendously. They will both fill some of the voids left by departing players.
Illinois isn’t just looking at the immediate future either. Brad Underwood and the Illini coaching staff are also targeting a player who could help the team for the 2024-25 campaign and beyond.
A couple of weeks ago, it was reported by The Portal Report that Christian Shumate had entered the transfer portal. They also tweeted out a list of teams interested in the talented wing, and Illinois was mentioned on the list.
McNeese State (D1) transfer Christian Shumate told @ThePortalReport that he has heard from the following programs in the portal:
— The Portal Report (@ThePortalReport) April 6, 2023
San Diego State
Arizona State
Missouri
Ole Miss
Fresno State
Illinois
Maryland
Murray State
Nevada
Virginia Tech
Grand Canyon
New Mexico
Abilene… pic.twitter.com/OEI8uSZo7P
Illinois basketball could stockpile talent in the transfer portal with the addition of Christian Shumate
Shumate is one of the more impressive players still left in the transfer portal. He was a star athlete in the state of Illinois before taking his talents to Tulsa to play for the Golden Hurricane.
In his first year at Tulsa, Shumate didn’t see much action and would end up taking a redshirt. He would then transfer out and land with McNeese.
This past year, Shumate would have his best season as a college basketball player. He would average 15.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per contest. He also improved his shooting. Shumate went from shooting 51.7% from the field to 54.8%, and he bumped his three-point shooting from 19.6% to 34.1%.
The one caveat about Shumate is the fact he has already transferred once in the college ranks. I believe he would have to get a waiver to be immediately eligible to play this upcoming season, which could be tough.
If Shumate couldn’t get a waive, Illinois would then get this talented 6-foot-7, 205-pound, wing the following season with two years of eligibility remaining. That would help Underwood will filling voids left by whoever departs after next season.
The fact Shumate is still available is intriguing. He put up some solid numbers with the Cowboys this past season. I would love it if Illinois could get those numbers sometime in the near future. Let’s see how this one plays out.