Honestly, I am still on the high of the Illinois basketball team landing a player in the transfer portal.
It was a pretty big deal that the Illini managed to pull in Cal transfer Andrej Stojakovic. He is going to help facilitate the offense and be a big piece to the entire Illinois squad.
I also believe an invaluable piece to the puzzle for the 2025-26 campaign are the returning players. Being in the Brad Underwood system for multiple years does wonders. Kylan Boswell and Tomislav Ivisic are going to be extremely important in what we are doing on the court.
On Tuesday night, Illinois got the word that another player was returning to the roster. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports posted on social media that Ben Humrichous has decided to come back to Illinois for one more season.
Ben Humrichous has officially decided to return to Illinois next season, per a school spokesman.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 29, 2025
Some might wonder how it is possible for Humrichous to come back to college. Well, a judge ruled that NAIA and junior college athletes have an extra year of eligibility, so Humrichous, who spent three seasons at Huntington University in the NAIA ranks, can come back to school for one more year.
My hate-hate relationship with Ben Humrichous will hopefully turn a corner during the Illinois basketball season
I am not going to sugarcoat things, I didn’t like Humrichous as a player on the Illinois basketball team last season. I am sure he is a good dude with solid values in life, but as a basketball player, I didn’t want anything to do with him.
The biggest issues I had with Humrichous were his defense and three-point shooting. He was billed as an ace three-point shooter but was third on the team at 34.3%, behind Jake Davis (34.4%) and Ivisic (35.7%). He should be somewhere near the 37% range.
Humrichous’ defense was frustrating, too. He was slow off the dribble, and he couldn’t maintain position defensively. It was painful watching him try to stop some of the Big Ten talent on the court.
My hope is that Humrichous will have less pressure on him in 2025-26, and this will give him more room to just be himself. He knows the Underwood system, and he will have another offseason to gel with his teammates. I think that is going to be huge for this kid.
Even though I had issues with his game, I welcome Humrichous back with open arms. He has a chance to be a valuable piece to the Illinois roster this upcoming campaign.