Top 10 Illinois basketball transfers of all time

The transfer portal has helped the Illinois basketball program a lot over the decades with some of the incoming transfers playing some big minutes.

By Rees Woodcock | Feb 28, 2024, 7:38 AM CST

Dec 6, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (0) reacts after scoring and drawing a foul against the Texas Longhorns during overtime at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

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No. 8 Matthew Mayer

It wasn’t a long stretch we had Matthew Mayer in town, but the stretch forward made his impact on the team. Illinois had some special moments last season and some of them were brought to you by Mayer.

Coming out of high school, the 6-foot-9 star picked the Baylor Bears as his landing spot. Mayer saw tremendous success with the Bears, as he would go on to win a national title and averaged 9.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 1.2 steals per game in his final season in Waco.

Mayer hit the transfer portal for one final stop during his college career. After a tough recruiting battle, Brad Underwood and the Illini were able to bring him to Champaign.

In his lone season with Illinois, Mayer was one of the go-to guys for the program. He would average 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.2 blocks per contest. He also helped Illinois back to the NCAA tournament.

Illinois would bow out in the first round of the NCAA tournament this past season, but without Mayer on the court, I don’t think the Illini even sniff the postseason. His impact on the program was great from day one, and he was a large reason we were still playing into March.

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