Illinois basketball has had some great talent come through the program, and some of those players entered through the transfer portal.
While the transfer portal has started to become a massive thing in today's game, transfers have always been a part of the fabric of the Illini program.
When you think back to some of the legends of the Illinois basketball team, quite a few of the players didn't start their careers in Champaign. I have compiled a list of the best transfer portal players of all time.
Here are the top 10 greatest Illinois basketball transfer portal additions of all time
10. Andres Feliz
There is only one player on this list who dealt with a worldwide pandemic while at Illinois, and that was Andres Feliz.
Feliz, like everyone else, didn’t start at Illinois. He began his college career at Northwest Florida State where he made a name for himself. He was a bulldog in the junior college ranks, and this caught Illinois’ eye.
After two seasons, Feliz ended up transferring to Illinois. His first year in Champaign was one of the worst in the history of the program. We won just 12 games, but you could see the talent bubble at the surface. Ayo Dosunmu was coming into his own, and the future was bright.
Feliz’s last season at Illinois was the 2019-20 campaign. We hadn’t been to the NCAA tournament in years, and this team was destined for greatness. Feliz was a big part of the success too.
Illinois won 21 games and was 13-7 in the Big Ten during the 2019-20 season. Feliz was third on the team in points, second in rebounds, and second in assists. He averaged 11.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game.
If it wasn’t for COVID-19, Illinois was going to be a top-six seed in the NCAA tournament. This team could have done some special things. If the Illini make an NCAA tournament run in 2020, Feliz would have likely been higher on this list too. For now, he is No. 10.