The transfer portal has been a double-edged sword for the Illinois basketball program.
In the Brad Underwood era, the Illini have had mixed results with the transfer portal. We have pulled in some of the top talent in the country, but that doesn’t mean that talent is going to mesh well.
Transfers have been happening for quite some time, but the transfer portal has gone buck wild in the past half-decade. The real start of Illini fans feeling the transfer portal came during the 2020-21 campaign.
Underwood brought in Jacob Grandison that season, and he was a great role player and someone who could be a glue guy for the program. But not all transfers go smoothly. Despite the talent, some players just don’t work with what Underwood is trying to do on the court.
A prime example of that was in 2022-23. Matthew Mayer and Terrence Shannon Jr. entered the scene, and I remember that no one wanted to take the lead role. Illinois was playing disjointed basketball, and it showed on the court with a quick NCAA tournament ousting.
Shannon figured things out the following season, leading Illinois to an Elite 8 appearance for the first time since 2005. While the good feelings from that run still live on today, I think it is time to realize that Underwood has landed another transfer portal class that just isn’t working.
Offensive and defensive numbers aren’t there for the Illinois basketball transfer portal additions
Illinois is now 27 games into the 2024-25 season, and we only have five contests left until the Big Ten Tournament. At this point, I think we have a large enough sample size to make definitive statements.
I think it is fair to say that Underwood swung and missed in the transfer portal this past offseason. I will be the first to say that I was excited about the transfer portal haul.
Illinois was able to land a player in Kylan Boswell who I was wanting in Champaign two years prior as a freshman. Arizona landed the guard, and he spent two seasons with the Wildcats. The Illini got a second chance at him and was able to bring him back home.
In addition to getting a lead guard, the Illini also landed a talented three-point shooter. Ben Humrichous was coming off a season where he hit 41.4% from three-point range. He is exactly what Underwood wants in the Illinois offense.
Tre White was the third big addition. After starting two seasons at two high-level programs, White decided to come to Illinois with his experience and great slashing ability. He would fit seamlessly on the wing.
All of this sounds great, and it was incredible on paper. But games aren’t played on paper. When this trio stepped on the court, things seemed fine for the first half of the season. I believe other talented players were covering up the deficiencies of the transfer portal additions.
Boswell has had his moments, but they are few and far between. On paper, 10.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game aren’t bad numbers. But the disappointment of his production is deeper than those numbers.
Over the past seven games, Boswell has only hit double-digit points in just two contests. In the past 14 games, he is 8-of-46, 17.4%, from three-point range. Boswell is fifth on the team in three-point attempts and eighth on the team in three-point percentage. He has attempted 104 three-pointers and is hitting them at a clip of 23.1% this season.
As a leader, you should see your deficiencies and make adjustments. Illinois is 6-2 this season when Boswell takes at least seven free throws. We are 3-0 when he takes at least eight attempts from the charity stripe.
Boswell played 55 minutes in the last two contests and attempted one free throw. He has attempted three or fewer free throws in six out of the last seven contests. Instead of trying to get to the free throw line, Boswell is settling for bad shots from three-point range. He takes attempts early in the shot clock or he stops the ball and jacks up a three-pointer. He isn’t giving what Illinois needs in a lead guard.
Humrichous and White shouldn’t be left off the hook either. I am not sure Humrichous is suited for the high-level college game. He feels like a small fish in a big pond. Humrichous averaged 14.8 points and shot 41.4% from three-point range with Evansville last season. Those numbers have dropped at Illinois.
While I expect the scoring average to drop a bit, Humrichous is now down to 34.6% from three-point range. The only reason he is second on the team in three-point shooting is that we are terrible at shooting the basketball. Illinois ranks No. 306 out of 364 teams in three-point shooting.
Humrichous’ shooting should be making up for his lack of defense, but it is not. He isn’t just struggling from deep, but the former Aces’ ace, isn’t good defensively either. He has a hard time guarding on the perimeter, and his first step is pretty slow. This allows opponents to get to the edge and to the basket quite easily.
And then you have White. He is a good role player, but I was hoping Illinois would get more than that out of a high-level transfer.
There are no elite qualities to White’s game. He is about average in most metrics. White’s three-point shooting is pretty bad, as he is shooting 23.3% from deep this season. His defense struggles at times as well.
All three of these transfer portal additions could be putting up more points. They all could drive to the hoop more often and create contact, which sends them to the charity stripe and gets the opposing team in foul trouble. They are all good at free throw shooting too. But that isn’t happening. While Illinois is averaging 22.3 free throws per game, we have only hit 20 free throw attempts in two out of the past seven games, and this includes 27 total free throws in the last two games.
As I sit here, I can honestly say, that the only transfer portal addition I am pleased with is Jake Davis. He has given Illinois some good minutes off the bench and knows his role. He also leads the program in three-point shooting at 35.7%. Davis gives it his all every time on the court, and he is doing things to help this team win.
At the end of the day, I am pretty confident this season was a swing and a miss in the transfer portal. Most of the transfer portal talent Illinois brought in hasn’t panned out, and now the program is paying for it by potentially missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since before COVID.