Brad Underwood has more pieces to add for 2025-26, and the Illinois basketball team will add them through the transfer portal.
One of the biggest issues this past season was the fact the Illini couldn’t shoot from deep. Our best three-point shooter was a 7-foot-1 big man. That is how bad things got for the program.
Coming into the offseason, Illinois’ main objective, besides rebuilding the roster, was to add shooting. Someone like Brendan Hausen would do the trick.
On Wednesday, Joe Tipton of On3.com reported that numerous teams, including Illinois, have shown interest in the guard.
Kansas State transfer guard Brendan Hausen is receiving interest from the following schools, per his agency One Motive Sports:
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) April 9, 2025
Gonzaga
Virginia
Kansas
Illinois
Tennessee
Virginia Tech
Ole Miss
Cincinnati
Missouri
Iowa
Oklahoma
Texas
Texas A&M
LSU
SMU
DePaul
Maryland… https://t.co/arqDEZThLu
Hausen is a 6-foot-4, 205-pound guard from Kansas State. He started his career out at Villanova and played two seasons for the Wildcats before transferring last season to the other Wildcats from Kansas.
It is exciting to think Illinois might be able to land someone like Hausen. He showed he could shoot the past couple of seasons, and that is something Illinois needs in the worst way.
During the 2024-25 season with Kansas State, Hausen averaged 10.9 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He isn’t one of those do-it-all type of players. Hausen is on the court for one reason and one reason alone. To shoot the basketball.
Hausen attempted 7.0 three-pointers per game with the Wildcats and knocked them down at a rate of 38.8%. That is exactly what I want to see.
Illinois basketball has a starting job waiting if we land Brendan Hausen from the transfer portal
I think there are guaranteed starters for the Illini heading into next season. Kylan Boswell, Tomislav Ivisic, and Zvonimir Ivisic are all locks in my book. I think all three are going to start regardless of who Illinois adds in the transfer portal.
If Hausen does pick Illinois, he is going to be a locked starter too. We need someone to play the No. 2 guard role. I think Hausen would be perfect alongside Boswell in the backcourt. This would give Illinois a dangerous shooting squad for next season.
My hope is that Underwood and the Illini coaching staff can put some resources into landing Hausen. He is a proven talent at the big boy level, and he is someone who could take us from really good to national title contender.