Why the Illinois Basketball Transfer Class is Underrated

Why the Illinois Basketball Transfer Class is Underrated

Brad Underwood and his staff have done a great job at replacing talent during the 2024 offseason. Illinois Basketball added 9 new players to the mix for 2024-25 which has created an exciting buzz around the potential of what the Illini have added to their current roster.

However, some in the media are not as sold on the Illini. According to John Fanta of FOX and the Field of 68, Illinois Basketball has been excluded from the Evanmiya.com top 15 transfer classes. Certainly, the Illini have been snubbed from this list and amongst the most ranking websites. But why? Tomislav Ivisic will turn 21 this year and has experience against professionals. Kasparas Jakucionis is on 2025 NBA draft boards. Kylan Boswell, Tre White, and Carey Booth were all heralded recruits.

Original post from X (@John_Fanta)

“Here are the top 15 incoming transfer classes according to https://t.co/US33XdLR7W.”

1. St. John’s
2. Louisville
3. Vanderbilt
4. Kentucky
5. Michigan
6. Arkansas
7. Indiana
8. Missouri
9. Texas Tech
10. Memphis
11. Baylor
12. Duke
13. Alabama
14. Ole Miss.
15. West Virginia

— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) June 3, 2024

The Illinois Basketball Transfer Class brings a lot of unknown

First off, there are a lot of unknowns heading into the 2024 season. Will Kylan Boswell figure it out as a lead point guard? Did Tre White just put up empty calories on an awful Louisville team? How big of an adjustment to the college game and a new country will Ivisic and Jakucionis have to endure? Can Ben Humrichous do what he did against a step-up in competition? In addition to the unknowns, these ranking sites unfortunately are not able to project how well international prospects such as Ivisic and Jakucionis will do. Hence, national media has underrated Illinois Basketball.

However, fear not. Brad Underwood has been there before. History has shown, that whenever the Illini headman is doubted, he comes up big.