Jase Butler leaving gives Illinois basketball another scholarship for transfer portal

There are always ups and downs to college recruiting, and the Illinois basketball team had a down on Monday morning.

The Illini class of 2024 was looking like a great group of players. We have Morez Johnson Jr. secured as the top recruit in the group, and he enters the program as a top-30 player coming from the 2024 class. Illinois also has Jason Jakstys, another big man who can help Morez in the paint in the coming years.

Jase Butler finished out the trio of incoming freshmen. He is a talented guard who wasn’t highly rated but then had a big senior year in high school.

On September 28, 2023, Illinois offered Butler a scholarship. He committed to the program on October 4.  In that span of time, Butler went from being ranked the No. 269 player in the class of 2024 on September 18 to being ranked the No. 162 player.

Butler signed with Illinois on November 8. Over the next couple of months, Butler would have a terrific senior campaign, and he is now ranked the No. 97 player in the 2024 class.

On Monday, Travis Branham of 247Sports reported that Butler decided Champaign wasn’t the place for him. He backed away from his commitment and requested a release from his National Letter of Intent.

Illinois basketball lost a good player in Jase Butler, but the transfer portal awaits Brad Underwood

Losing Butler hurts because I like to see young players develop at Illinois. But Brad Underwood has been able to adjust on the fly, and the Butler departure just means there is one more scholarship available.

As of right now, I believe Illinois has four scholarships available after Butler’s departure. We have six players on the roster returning, and then we have three newcomers.

That is a lot of canvas for Underwood to paint what will hopefully be a national championship-contending picture. And, honestly, there is no reason to believe Underwood won’t be able to come through for the program.

Just look what Underwood did last season. We lost some pieces, but he brought in key players like Quincy Guerrier and Marcus Domask to fill in the holes. Those were big-time moves that helped us to the Elite 8.

Butler leaving Illinois hurts the program, but it also gives Underwood more room to play in the transfer portal. Let’s see what he can come up with over the next month or so.