The transfer portal battle wages on, as the Illinois basketball team lost another player on Tuesday.
It has been a crazy few weeks since the end of the 2023-24 season. The Illini have had three players depart the program, the latest being big man Amani Hansberry. He joined Dain Dainja and Sencire Harris in finding a new home.
Illinois has been able to add three players from the transfer portal as well. Kylan Boswell, Tre White, and Jake Davis should help fill the voids. But there is still a lot of work to do. Hansberry departing shakes up the potential lineup for next season.
Here is the projected Illinois basketball lineup after Amani Hansberry enters the transfer portal
No. 1 Guard
Starter: Kylan Boswell (JR)
The biggest transfer portal get for the Illinois basketball program thus far is easily Kylan Boswell. We missed on him when he was coming out of Compass Prep, but Brad Underwood was able to land the talented point guard the second time around.
Boswell is a former top-25 recruit in the class of 2022. Originally from Champaign, Illinois, Boswell moved out west for his high school career. With the West Coast connections, Boswell ended up picking Arizona for the first two years of college. He averaged 9.6 points, 3.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game as a sophomore. Boswell also knocked down 37.9% of his three-point attempts. Without a doubt, Boswell enters the 2024-25 campaign as the starter at the No. 1 guard spot.
Backup: Niccolo Moretti (SO)
Illinois is pretty stable at the point guard position. Boswell is a big-time upgrade in this role, but backing him up should be a superstar in the making, Niccolo Moretti.
Moretti didn’t do a ton as a freshman, as there was so much talent on the roster. When he was on the court, you could tell he was electric. He had great energy and was a true point guard. Moretti will create for others. He also technically led Illinois by shooting 66.7% from three-point range. He was 2-of-3 on the season. I have him entering next season as the primary backup at the No. 1 spot.
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