Roster flux: Illinois, Underwood and the transfer era

Apr. 9—More than 1,300 players have decided to transfer this offseason, and the portal is still open for 33 more days. Some teams have been hit harder than others, but that still averages out to nearly four transfer per Division I team. So what's happened at Illinois — four scholarship players and a walk-on in the portal — isn't exactly unique, but it still had beat writer Scott Richey examining the roster comings and goings of scholarship players in the Brad Underwood era:

Transfer out

Te'Jon Lucas (Milwaukee, BYU)

Lucas was a holdover from the John Groce era and played a single season for Brad Underwood in 2017-18. The 6-foot-1 guard started 19 of 29 games and averaged 5.7 points, 3.2 assists and 2.2 rebounds in his final season with the Illini before opting to return home. Lucas sat out one season at Milwaukee after transferring, played two for the Panthers and then used his final year of eligibility at BYU in 2021-22 when he put up 10.4 points, 4.7 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game.

Greg Eboigbodin (Northeastern)

It was a short stay in Champaign for Eboigbodin. The project big man — an early theme in the Underwood era — played in 30 games as a true freshman in 2017-18 and even started two. Part of the major exodus after Underwood's first season, the Benin City, Nigeria, native transferred to Northeastern but never really found his footing with the Huskies. Eboigbodin averaged 2.9 points and 3.7 rebounds in two seasons on the court at Northeastern.

Mark Smith (Missouri, Kansas State)

Expectations soared for Smith after a breakout senior season at Edwardsville yielded News-Gazette All-State Player of the Year and Mr. Basketball honors and a serious boost in his recruitment. A part-time starter for the Illini in 2017-18, Smith left after his freshman season. He played three seasons at Missouri, finished his college career playing for former Illinois coach Bruce Weber at Kansas State and went 3-1 against the Illini.

Michael Finke (Grand Canyon)

The Centennial grad had the best season of his three at Illinois in 2017-18, averaging career highs in scoring (9.8 ppg), rebounds (4.6 rpg) and assists (1.1). But Finke's three-point shooting bottomed out to a career-low 30.9 percent, and he joined the lengthy list of exiting players after one season playing for Underwood. Finke transferred to Grand Canyon and wrapped up his college career playing one season with his younger brother Tim.

Samba Kane (Indian Hills C.C. (Iowa), San Francisco, Milwaukee)

Kane was another international big man Illinois took a chance on as part of a larger recruiting class. The 7-footer out of Dakar, Senegal, played in 18 games as a true freshman for the Illini in 2018-19 before transferring out of the program. He spent one season at the junior-college level before a year apiece at San Francisco and Milwaukee. Kane's best season was with the Dons, where he averaged 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds.

Anthony Higgs (Chipola College)

A foot injury sidelined Higgs for the entire 2018-19 season, and he transferred out before ever playing a game for Illinois. The Baltimore native spent the 2019-20 season at Chipola College (Fla.) and carved out a small role off the bench for the Indians.

Tevian Jones (Southern Utah)

Off-the-court issues derailed Jones' time at Illinois, as multiple suspensions kept the 6-7 guard sidelined. He played in 38 games for the Illini — all off the bench — and saw even his small role as a freshman dramatically decrease in 2019-20 before he transferred. Jones got a fresh start at Southern Utah, started 87 of 88 games and averaged 16.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in three seasons with the Thunderbirds.

Alan Griffin (Syracuse)

Griffin's playing time grew substantially from his freshman to sophomore seasons at Illinois, but the 6-5 guard still opted to transfer following the 2019-20 season. Griffin came off the bench almost exclusively during his time with the Illini, but still averaged 8.9 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 41.6 percent from three-point range as a sophomore. He spent just a single season at Syracuse before deciding to turn pro.

Jermaine Hamlin (Eastern Illinois)

Hamlin spent two seasons backing up Kofi Cockburn, which meant a dearth of playing time for the Lincoln native. Just 90 total minutes in 24 games. Hamlin opted to transfer after the 2020-21 season and spent the past two years at Eastern Illinois. The 6-10 center played an integral role in 13 games in 2021-22 before seeing his playing time (9.3 minutes per game) and production (3.1 points and two rebounds per game) drop this past season.

Adam Miller (LSU)

Miller started all 31 games as a freshman at Illinois in 2020-21, but it was still a team that ran through Ayo Dosunmu and Cockburn and had Andre Curbelo emerging as a playmaker off the bench (with a higher-usage rate than Miller). A torn ACL derailed Miller's first year at LSU, but healthy again in 2022-23, he averaged an inefficient 11.5 points on a 34/32/83 shooting slash to go with 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Now, Miller's in the portal again.

Andre Curbelo (St. John's)

Curbelo might be one of the bigger "What if?" questions about Illinois from the last decade. As in, what if the 6-1 guard didn't suffer multiple concussions in his time with the Illini. His last in Champaign derailed his sophomore season, and he wasn't the same player when he came back after missing 14 games. Curbelo's fresh start didn't work out at St. John's. He clashed with coach Mike Anderson, was suspended twice and is back in the portal again after the Red Storm's coaching change.

Brandin Podziemski (Santa Clara)

Podziemski didn't see the type of role he desired at Illinois given Underwood's roster building last offseason. So after playing 69 minutes in 16 games with the Illini in 2021-22, Podziemski transferred to Santa Clara to be a go-to option. It worked. Podziemski shared West Coast Conference Player of the Year honors with Gonzaga's Drew Timme and has declared for the 2023 NBA draft after putting up 19.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 48 percent overall and 44 percent from three for the Broncos.

Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk (South Carolina)

Injuries delayed the beginning of Bosmans-Verdonk's time at Illinois, and he wound up playing just 17 games total in his first two seasons in Champaign. That led to a bigger role in 2021-22, including a pair of starts in 24 games played, but the 6-8 Belgian forward still hit the transfer portal after his third season with the Illini concluded. Bosmans-Verdonk became part of the rebuild at South Carolina under first-year coach Lamont Paris this past season, and while he started 14 of 31 games, he only averaged 1.9 points and 3.1 rebounds.

Skyy Clark (Louisville)

Featured Local Savings

Clark didn't even make it through a full calendar year with Illinois. Barely past the halfway point of a full calendar year, in fact, after committing to the Illini last April and leaving the team for personal reasons in January after playing just 13 games. Clark entered the portal when it opened during the week of the NCAA tournament and announced his commitment to Louisville just minutes after Illinois lost to Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Jayden Epps (TBD)

Epps was the first offseason portal domino to fall for Illinois. The freshman guard played in 31 games in 2022-23 and moved into the starting lineup at the end of January and averaged 9.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists to close out his first year. It wasn't enough to keep him out of the portal, with North Carolina State and Georgetown emerging as early top suitors.

Brandon Lieb (TBD)

Lieb didn't play much in three seasons at Illinois. The 7-footer out of Deerfield was a late addition to the 2020-21 roster, spent his first two years as a backup center behind Cockburn and then filled a similar role this past season behind Dain Dainja. Lieb did appear in a career-high 16 games this season, but it was only for 59 total minutes. He's received mostly low and mid-major interest since entering the portal.

RJ Melendez (TBD)

Suffice it to say, the 2022-23 season was not the breakout sophomore year some were projecting for Melendez. The 6-7 guard played solid defense throughout the season, but his offensive game was a struggle. It wasn't for lack of opportunity. Melendez started 18 of 32 games, but putting up six points per game on 38 percent overall shooting and 26 percent shooting from three made his second year in Champaign a constant struggle. Now, there won't be a third.

Transfers in

Mark Alstork (Ball State, Wright State)

Alstork was Underwood's first transfer addition, with the First-Team All-Horizon League selection choosing Illinois rather than LSU, Pittsburgh or South Carolina. The 6-5 guard started all 32 games he played in his lone season at Illinois, but his level of production at the mid-major level didn't follow him to the Big Ten. Alstork averaged 5.8 points and 3.4 rebounds and shot a career-worst 24.1 percent from three-point range.

Andres Feliz (Northwest Florida State)

Feliz wasn't in the portal as a JUCO transfer, but the 6-2 guard was a transfer nonetheless. An important one, too, when it came to building the foundation of a program that won more Big Ten games the last four years than any other team in the conference. Underwood gives Feliz as much credit as any player as developing the culture that led to that success. The Guachupita, Dominican Republic, native was productive on the court, too, putting up 9.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 rebounds in his two-year Illini career.

Adonis De La Rosa (St. John's, Williston State, Kent State)

De La Rosa was the first big man off the bench for Illinois in 2018-19, backing up true freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili. The 7-footer out of The Bronx, N.Y., started one game of the 26 he played and put up a season-high 12 points during a loss at Northwestern, but his one-and-done year in Champaign ended with him averaging 2.3 points and 1.8 rebounds.

Austin Hutcherson (Wesleyan (Conn.))

Injuries essentially defined Hutcherson's college basketball career save for the time he spent at Wesleyan. The 6-6 guard was a star at the Division III level, and used that momentum to land at Illinois after being courted by multiple high-major programs. The injury issues returned in Champaign, and Hutcherson's Illini career ultimately amounted to four games played in 2021-22.

Alfonso Plummer (Arizona Western College, Utah)

Illinois needed to add a shooter ahead of the 2021-22 season to space the floor around Cockburn. Plummer delivered. A 39.9 percent three-point shooter in two seasons at Utah, the 6-1 guard shot 40.8 percent from deep on just more than seven attempts per game in his only season with the Illini. Plummer wound up Illinois' second-leading scorer at 14.6 points per game and concluded his college career as a Third-Team All-Big Ten selection.

Dain Dainja (Baylor)

Dainja represents Underwood's favorite kind of transfer — the kind that has to sit out upon arrival. Dainja fell into that category as a mid-year transfer during the 2021-22 season, and he spent the next several months practicing against Cockburn and getting his body right with strength and conditioning coach Adam Fletcher. The result was perhaps a better-than-expected debut season with the Illini. Dainja worked his way into the starting lineup in late December and finished out the year averaging 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds.

Terrence Shannon Jr. (Texas Tech)

Losing four fifth-year guards in addition to Cockburn after the 2021-22 season opened the door for Illinois to offer a major role to a potential transfer. Shannon quickly became the target given his existing relationship with assistant coach Tim Anderson, and the Chicago native made good on that opportunity this past season. Shannon earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors after putting up 17.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, and there's one more year of eligibility he could utilize to run it back as perhaps a preseason All-American.

Matthew Mayer (Baylor)

Mayer was in a similar situation as Shannon as one of the top transfer targets last offseason. Illinois had the right package to offer between an on-court role and name, image and likeness opportunities to lure the former national champion at Baylor. Mayer averaged 12.5 points and 5.3 rebounds and wound up a Third-Team All-Big Ten selection, but his one-and-done season in Champaign ended on the sour note of making just 1 of 20 three-pointers in his final three games.

Transfers in, then out

Jacob Grandison (Holy Cross, Duke)

Grandison joined Illinois before the one-time transfer rule, so he had to sit out the 2019-20 season. Time he spent getting acclimated to the Big Ten. Grandison averaged 7.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in his two seasons on the court at Illinois in addition to shooting 41.1 percent from three-point range. He ultimately used his bonus sixth year of eligibility to be the adult in the room at Duke, where he came off the bench to average 4.4 points in 15.9 minutes per game.

Omar Payne (Florida, Jacksonville)

Adding Payne was insurance in case Cockburn either stayed in the 2021 NBA draft or transferred elsewhere since both options were on the table. Cockburn decided on a third year in Champaign instead, and that sent Payne into a backup role. He put up 1.8 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.4 minutes per game for the Illini before transferring again. Payne started nine of 25 games at Jacksonville this past season and averaged 4.8 points and 3.2 rebounds.