There is no doubt that the transfer portal has proved to be incredibly fruitful for the Illinois basketball team over the past few seasons.
Names like Terrance Shannon Jr., Kylan Boswell, and Andrej Stojakovic all come to mind, but this offseason feels like a different story. Fresh off a run to the Final Four and a strong recruiting class coming in, the Illini have maintained a title-contending group of talent within.
But aside from Stefan Vaaks and another potential transfer, Illinois’ roster is seemingly complete, and that might be all the Illini need.
With experience being an incredibly valued commodity in today’s age of college sports and the Illini’s coaching staff track record of developing younger players and letting them prove themselves, what they have might be all they need to claim that elusive national championship trophy.
History shows an experienced Illinois basketball squad is the way to go in the NCAA tournament
Recent history has shown that championship-level teams are all older or, at the very least, spearheaded by a player who is older. With multiple Illinois starters that are in their 3rd or 4th year of college basketball, the team certainly fits that category.
Especially given now that all these experienced players have a year together under their belt, and the group experience adds another layer of proof that this team can go deep with what they have. Unless Illinois can get someone from the transfer portal who matches this and is very productive, which is hard to find, all signs point to the roster being set.
Likewise, this coaching staff has shown that when they really believe in a young player and want to see them shine, they will give them the opportunity. Keaton Wagler, Kasparas Jakucionis, and Will Riley are all prime examples of this in recent memory.
With a strong recruiting class featuring many talented players, like Quentin Coleman and Lucas Morillo, to name a few, adding a transfer may end up diminishing the roles these players may see otherwise.
While Underwood and Co. may have a few more additions they are eyeing, as it is, this team is extremely talented and could generate more hype than even last year's team did.
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