Crystal Ball Prediction favors Illinois basketball to land transfer portal guard

Illinois basketball seems to be pretty close to landing a top transfer portal point guard.

The transfer portal hasn’t been bad for the Illini yet. We have lost Dain Dainja, who is now with the Memphis Tigers. In return, Illinois has secured a commitment from wing shooter Jake Davis out of Mercer and wing Tre White out of Louisville.

At this point, the additions far outweigh the subtractions, but there are some holes Illinois needs to patch up in the lineup. We need some more depth at multiple positions, and I believe landing someone like Kylan Boswell would help fill those holes.

Coming out of Compass Prep in Arizona, Boswell was a five-star recruit who was ranked as the No. 25 player in the class of 2022. He was down to Illinois and Arizona as his landing spots, but the talented point guard ended up picking the Wildcats.

This past season with Arizona, Boswell averaged 9.6 points, 3.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.4 steals while hitting 37.9% from three-point range and 79.5% from the free throw line.

On April 9, Boswell ended his time with the Wildcats, as he entered the transfer portal. This was a name that piqued most Illini fan’s interest, and it now seems like we are decently close to landing him the second time around.

That same day, April 9, the 247Sports National Basketball Director Eric Bossi put in a Crystal Ball Prediction for Boswell. The team he thinks will land the former five-star point guard? Illinois.

Illinois basketball landing Kylan Boswell out of the transfer portal would change the Iineup completely

This Crystal Ball Prediction is a pretty big deal. This isn’t coming from some “expert” from another team site. This is the National Basketball Director, so it has some teeth.

When I first saw Boswell enter the transfer portal, I immediately thought this was one of the top players Illinois needs to be eyeing. Despite playing high school basketball in Arizona, Boswell lived in Champaign through his eighth-grade year.

Illinois’ lineup would get a massive change if Boswell committed too. He would immediately be inserted in the starting lineup at the No. 1 guard spot. That means Ty Rodgers would have to move to another area of the court, which is probably better for his game.

Boswell would take Illinois from a good program heading into the 2024-25 campaign to a great one. I saw we weren't ranked in the early top 25 predictions, but with Boswell, there is no doubt Illinois would start inside the top 25. He is a difference-maker.