Updated Illinois basketball transfer portal wish list includes a familiar name

Chaz Lanier - North Florida Ospreys

Illinois wants more shooting in the backcourt. We have some good pieces right now, but a player like Chaz Lanier would take the Illini backcourt from really good to title-contending.

Lanier had very little recruiting attention coming out of Ensworth High School in Tennessee. He wasn’t rated or ranked in the class of 2020, so he ended up picking North Florida as his landing spot.

Through three seasons with the Ospreys, Lanier’s game wasn’t anything to write home about. His best season came in 2022-23 when he averaged 4.7 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He played in 31 games that season but only started nine of those contests.

Lanier broke out this past season, though. He finally got his chance to start in 31 games, and he was sensational. The 6-foot-4, 199-pound guard averaged 19.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.

Now that Lanier is in the transfer portal, there are numerous teams that have contacted them. According to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, Illinois is one of the teams that has been showing interest.

While Lanier is a great athlete and can move well, I believe his shooting is what is drawing interest. This kid is one of the best shooters in the country. He took 7.5 three-point attempts per game last season and hit them at a clip of 44.0%. That is an outrageous number.

I think the lineup scenario would be the same as it is for Wooga Poplar. Lanier would likely come into the Illinois program and take the starting No. 3 spot in the lineup. This would give the Illini the most dangerous team in the Big Ten.