Illini hit with first roster changes

Mar. 29—CHAMPAIGN — The Illinois men's basketball team avoided any changes to its roster in the first two weeks the transfer portal was open and early entrants started declaring for the NBA draft.

That NCAA tournament prep and what turned out to be a first-round loss to Arkansas occupied the first week of an open, accommodating portal helped. Then another week-plus passed with no news. And in the college basketball offseason, no news is good news.

But it wasn't going to last. This is 2023. Roster continuity is the exception these days.

Illinois was dealt its first dose of change Tuesday when freshman guard Jayden Epps announced he was entering the transfer portal on Tuesday morning. Roughly two hours later, junior forward Coleman Hawkins declared for the NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility.

Epps' decision to transfer comes after the 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard played in 31 games and started 11 as a true freshman.

He missed the final two games of the regular season after suffering a concussion in an incident in practice that led to an overnight hospitalization. He played scant minutes after his return, with just three minutes against Penn State in the Big Ten tournament and six minutes against Arkansas in the NCAA tournament.

"I am thankful to my coaches for giving me the opportunity to play Illinois basketball, as well as my trainers and support staff who have contributed to my development during my time here," Epps' note on social media read. "Moreover, I want to thank my teammates who have become like family to me. I will always cherish the relationships I have built. I appreciate the unwavering passion and support of Illini fans, whose energy and enthusiasm at every game have made playing college basketball an incredible experience.

"After careful consideration and discussions with my family, I have decided to enter the transfer portal. I am confident that this is the best decision for my future and personal growth."

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Epps' decision to enter the transfer portal is the first offseason loss for Illinois. Both Luke Goode and Dain Dainja have announced their intention to return for the 2023-24 season. Sencire Harris was actually the first to announce his intent to return before deleting his social media post.

Illinois was already mining the transfer portal talent before Epps entered. That effort will only pick up steam, and there are plenty of options. The portal has already topped 1,000 entrants and is on pace to surpass the more than 1,700 transfers the last two offseasons.

"The numbers will level out at some point," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said Monday evening. "As long as there's name, image and likeness and there's agents involved, there's always going to be movement — for no reason. Some agent calls and says I can get you more money at (a certain school) than I could get you in NIL here, so they're pulling them out. That's always going to be the case. The object is to go get a guy, and hopefully, he has two to three years left and he can't transfer anymore."

Hawkins' announcement wasn't unexpected. The 6-10, 225-pound forward has consistently been projected as a second-round pick come June's draft. That includes the latest mock drafts from ESPN's Jonathan Givony and The Athletic's Sam Vecenie, who have Hawkins slotted as the No. 43 and No. 53 overall pick, respectively.

"I have always dreamed of becoming a professional basketball player," Hawkins wrote in a note posted to social media Tuesday afternoon. "Because of all of the support and inspiration from the wonderful people here at Illinois I am going to chase that dream by entering my name into the 2023 NBA draft while maintaining my eligibility. I am extremely blessed to have this opportunity, and I'm excited to see what the future holds!"

Hawkins was faced with an April 23 deadline to declare for the draft. Now that he has, there's roughly two months before he'll have to make a final decision on his basketball future. Early entrants, who want to preserve their eligibility and play college basketball again in the 2023-24 season, are faced with an NCAA-mandated May 31 deadline to withdraw from the draft.

Underwood calls this time of year "information gathering" for prospective draft picks. A critical part of that is the evaluation those players receive from the NBA's undergrad advisory committee comprised of general mangers, player personnel staff and scouts.

"They give you an evaluation, and it's always right on," Underwood said. "They'll give you a projection of where you're at in the draft, you gather that information and then you sit down and have to decide. Am I better off coming back or am I better off taking the leap? That's their decision to make. I get to talk to most of the GMs and most of the decision-makers. When guys ask me, I'll be glad to tell them. We'll see where all that falls and we'll have to let that play out."