Illinois found itself a seat at the big kids’ table this year with its run to the Final Four, and Brad Underwood seems intent on keeping the Illini there. A few days after the program was competing for a national championship in Indianapolis, it is now battling with powerhouse programs for one of the top players in the Transfer Portal, John Blackwell.
The Wisconsin guard will cost a pretty penny, but all early indications are that Illinois hasn’t backed down from Michigan and Duke, the other top suitors for his services. Adding Blackwell to replace Keaton Wagler will give Underwood the best chance of getting back to a Final Four much quicker than the 21 years Illinois had to wait last time, but that’s not the only reason to go all-in for him. The Illini need to keep him away from Ann Arbor.
Illinois can’t led John Blackwell get to Michigan
On Monday night, Michigan became the first team in college basketball history to win a national championship with five transfers in the starting lineup. And, while Kentucky blew everyone away with a $22 million portal haul last season and UNC assembled a $14 million roster, May steamrolled his way through the NCAA Tournament for a comparatively modest $10 million price tag.
May is one of the best coaches in the country at finding talent in the portal. Last year Yaxel Lendeborg was his big ticket item, but he grabbed Elliot Cadeau and Aday Mara out of the bargain bin after the former five-stars struggled through their first two seasons at UNC and UCLA respectively.
Presumably, May has Cadeau and Mara coming back for next year, along with Morez Johnson Jr., and Trey McKenney, a home-grown budding star. He just needs the offensive centerpiece to fit it all around, and the best option on the board right now is clearly Blackwell.
A near 40 percent three-point shooter on almost eight attempts per game, Blackwell is an elite floor-spacer but he can get his own shot off the bounce and create for others as well. May would be sacrificing the size that Lendeborg provided as a 6-foot-9 small forward, but he’d add another shot-maker, and that’s terrifying for the rest of the Big Ten.
Illinois is positioning itself as a top contender in the conference, but everybody is gunning for May and the Wolverines. To land Blackwell over them would be the coup of the offseason and potentially set the Illini up to be the favorites in the conference next season.