New transfer portal window change is going to be a relief to Illinois basketball

Throughout the past few years, Brad Underwood and Shauna Green have done a great job helping Illinois basketball adapt to the transfer portal.

It hasn’t been an easy ask for these head coaches. Both Illini programs had been in the dumps when these coaches took over, and they used the resources they had and the transfer portal availability to help rebuild their teams.

One big issue with the transfer portal has always been the windows. It has always been somewhat of the wild wild west when it comes to the transfer portal. The transfer portal window used to open after the end of the second round of the NCAA tournament. This window would stay open for 30 days.

The window is now much shorter, and moreover, it is adjusted to be at a much better time than in the past.

In a post on social media, the NCAA has adopted new transfer portal rules. The window for the transfer portal will now start the day after the national championship. Instead of 30 days, the transfer portal window will now be like college football, as it will be just 15 days.

Illinois basketball has done a great job filling in holes on the roster with the transfer portal

When I look at the men’s roster, Illinois has built some nice depth with the transfer portal. Just in the starting lineup alone, we have Kylan Boswell, Andrej Stojakovic, and Tomislav Ivisic.

All three key rotational pieces are also from the transfer portal. Jake Davis entered the picture a couple of years ago. The same goes for Ben Humrichous. Illinois was able to land Zvonimir Ivisic from the transfer portal this past summer.

Green has also hit the transfer portal hard, mostly on the front end of her coaching tenure. The early Illini teams under Green were filled with transfer portal talent like Genesis Bryant and Makira Cook.

Even on the current rendition of the Illinois basketball team, you have Maddie Webber, who is a massive contributor. Aaliyah Guyton is giving the Illini quality minutes. Jasmine Brown-Hagger continues to be a force. And Lety Vasconcelos is a huge asset in the paint off the bench.

There are plenty of coaches who are transfer portal adverse. That isn’t what we do here at Illinois. Both Underwood and Green have embraced it, and this has helped put Illinois in a golden era.