Illinois Basketball: Illini targeting elite defender in transfer portal

Illinois basketball isn’t even close to being finished with the transfer portal.

It has been a wild ride for the Illini thus far. To begin the transfer portal proceedings, we lost three players who were going to play meaningful minutes next season. This was a blow to the program, but Brad Underwood quickly rebounded with some commitments of his own.

Illinois was able to pull in three transfer portal pledges of our own in Justin Harmon, Marcus Domask, and Quincy Guerrier. I believe we have two starters and a solid backup out of that bunch. We could also use some more size in the future, and that size could come via the transfer portal.

On Monday, it was announced that 7-foot, 215-pound, Aziz Bandaogo was hearing from a handful of teams. One of the teams mentioned was Illinois.

Adding Aziz Bandaogo out of the transfer portal would be a long play for the Illinois basketball program

Illinois getting involved in the Bandaogo recruitment is a good move. He is someone who could help the Illini for the 2024-25 campaign because he already used his one free transfer after the 2021-22 season. There is always a chance for a waiver, though.

Regardless of when he could suit up, Illinois landing Bandaogo would be big for the program. He started out at Akron after having a slow recruitment. Bandaogo didn’t get a ton of playing time with the Zips in the two years he was there, so he decided to transfer out and land with Utah Valley.

This past season with the Wolverines, Bandaogo broke out. He would average 11.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, and 1.2 assists per game. Bandaogo was an essential piece in Utah Valley’s deep run in the NIT as well.

If Bandaogo did pick the Illini, he would form quite the duo with Dain Dainja. Illinois would have the bash brothers underneath the hoop. I would venture to say, the Illini would lead the nation in blocks. These two would be incredible together.

Getting in the sweepstakes for Bandaogo might be a long play for the Illinois basketball program. Whenever he is eligible to play, the Illini would be getting a big-time big man who can destroy teams on the inside. I would love this addition for the Orange and Blue.