Illinois basketball transfer portal departures, where are they now?

Brandon Lieb

Illinois has had plenty of backups over the years who wanted a little shine after being a trooper and waiting their turn with the program. Brandon Lieb was a backup during his time at Illinois, and he looked for a starting job to finish out his time in college.

The 6-foot-11, 205-pound big man wasn’t highly recruited by high-level DI programs coming out of Deerfield High School in Illinois. He was rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 477 player in the class of 2020. He was also the No. 82 center in the country and the No. 10 player coming out of the state of Illinois.

Lieb picked Illinois as his landing spot. The Illini didn’t use him much, but he was a nice depth piece for the program. As a freshman, Lieb played in five games and averaged 0.8 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.

During his sophomore season, Lieb saw action in 10 games and averaged 0.8 points and 0.7 rebounds per contest. He then followed that season with a junior year that saw him in 16 games and averaging 0.9 points and 1.1 rebounds per game.

On March 30, 2023, Lieb decided to take his talents into the transfer portal. Less than a month later, the big man found a new home. Illinois State was his landing spot.

This past season with the Redbirds, Lieb averaged 3.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in 17 games, six of which were starts. Illinois State finished the season 15-17 overall.