4. Bryant Notree
If having a legend like Lou Henson leave the program in the 1990s wasn’t already hard enough, try losing one of your best players to an in-state program. That is what happened with Bryant Notree.
Coming out of Simeon Academy in Chicago, Notree was a highly decorated player. He was a High School Parade All-American and was one of the best players in the high school ranks. Notree could have gone anywhere, but he picked Illinois as his landing spot.
Notree spent three seasons with the Illini and averaged good numbers. His best season in Champaign came in 1995-96 when he averaged 10.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 1.0 steals per game.
After his junior year, Notree decided to transfer out of the program. He ended up committing to the Illinois-Chicago Flames. This made sense after Illinois assistant coach Jimmy Collins took over as head coach of the Flames.
Notree’s lone season with UIC was great. He averaged 15.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
If Notree had stuck around for the 1997-98 season, Illinois could have had a national title-contending team. We were 23-10 overall and 13-3 in the Big Ten. Illinois entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 5 seed and got to the second round. With Notree on the roster, who knows how deep the Illini could have gotten in that postseason?