Transfers have been woven into the fabric of the Illinois basketball program over the past 50 years.
Some of the best Illini players haven’t started their college careers in Champaign. While these players would go on to be great for the Orange and Blue, they had to make a stop or two before donning that great jersey.
This got me thinking; who are the best transfers to ever come through the Illinois program? I believe I have a solid list of the top 10 transfers of all time.
Here are the top 10 Illinois basketball transfers of all-time
No. 10 Andres Feliz
With the transfer portal becoming a bigger player in the college game, some of this top list consists of recent talent. The No. 10 player on the top 10 Illini transfers of all time is Andres Feliz.
At 6-foot-2, 165 pounds, Feliz attended Northwestern Florida State College out of high school. He would put up impressive numbers, and this caught the eye of Brad Underwood. The Illini would pursue Feliz and land the talented point guard for two seasons.
In the final year that Feliz was in Champaign, he would average 11.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. While his numbers were really good in his final year for the Illini, his impact in the win column meant even more.
Before Feliz’s senior year, Illinois had missed the NCAA tournament six years in a row. We were also coming off a 12-win campaign. That 2019-20 season was special, as the Illini would get to 21 wins and would finish the season ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 2005-06.
The impact Feliz had on the Illinois basketball program does not go unnoticed. Illinois had a hard time finding good point guard talent for nearly a decade leading up to Feliz joining the team. His impact was felt throughout, and now Illinois hasn’t missed the postseason since.