Illinois Basketball: Illini a “best fit” for transfer portal guard Caleb Love

Illinois basketball might be back in the running for one of the top players in the transfer portal.

Let’s recap what the Illini have done this offseason. We lost three players to the transfer portal and two to the NBA Draft. There is still a chance those two in the draft process return, though.

To combat the departures, Brad Underwood and his coaching staff were able to land three transfer portal players. These three gets for the Illini will help the program tremendously. But there are still a couple of scholarships to fill, and Illinois could always use more help on the roster.

One of those scholarships could end up going to someone like Caleb Love. The 6-foot-4 guard from Missouri is back in the transfer portal and is looking for a new home.

Illinois basketball is rumored to be a potential landing spot for transfer portal guard Caleb Love

Coming out of Christian Brothers College High School in Missouri, Love was a five-star recruit who was the No. 7 player in the class of 2020. He was also the No. 2 point guard in the country and the best player coming out of the state of Missouri.

North Carolina would be Love’s landing spot. He would play three seasons with the Tar Heels and would increase his numbers just about every season. In 2022-23, Love would average 16.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.

On March 27, Love decided to end his time in Chapel Hill. He entered the transfer portal in hopes of finding a good home. On April 7, that home was found, as Love would commit to playing for Michigan.

That commitment only lasted just over a month, though. On Friday, Love backed away from his commitment to the Wolverines and is now back in the transfer portal.

Just hours after the Love announcement, Travis Branham of 247Sports posted an article with the best fits for the talented North Carolina point guard. He named Arizona, Baylor, Kansas State, Louisville, Texas, and Illinois as teams to watch in his recruitment.

Opinion about what is happening with Caleb Love

I feel like something similar happened with Terrence Shannon Jr. He was rumored to be going to Michigan but then there was a massive swing and Illinois ended up landing him. Hopefully, the same thing happens here.

Illinois’ options to land another player in the transfer portal are dwindling. We need a point guard for the upcoming season, especially one who can score at a high clip like Love.

I was hoping RayJ Dennis was going to come through, but he continues to eye other programs and is now taking a visit to Utah. I wouldn’t count him out by any means, but it is being reported by numerous people that Michigan is now going to go hard for Dennis.

Overall, if Illinois lands either Love or Dennis, I would be a happy camper. If we land neither, then it would be a little disheartening. Let’s see what our coaching staff can pull off.