UNC basketball misses on transfer target as Baylor forward Matthew Mayer picks Illinois
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina basketball target Matthew Mayer has picked Illinois as his transfer destination.
The former Baylor wing forward announced the decision Friday night in a social media post, choosing coach Brad Underwood and the Fighting Illini ahead of Memphis, Texas Tech and the Tar Heels.
No need for Mayer to wait anymore on weighing a choice, apparently. He could’ve visited the campuses of prospective suitors as soon as this weekend, when a dead period lifts Saturday on the NCAA men’s basketball recruiting calendar.
Mayer becomes the third NCAA transfer portal addition for Illinois since January, with all three of them Big 12 Conference imports to the Big Ten program. He joins former Baylor teammate Dain Dainja and former Texas Tech guard Terrence Shannon Jr. with the Illini. Shannon transferred to Illinois late last month.
Underwood knows the Big 12 landscape. He was the head coach at Stephen F. Austin (2013-16) and Oklahoma State (2016-17), before taking the Illinois job. Mayer is from Austin, Texas.
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Versatile and experienced, the skilled 6-foot-9 Mayer, an important piece of Baylor’s 2020-21 team that claimed the NCAA title, trimmed his potential transfer destination list to the four finalists, per reports Thursday.
UNC had been viewed by some college basketball analysts and insiders as the favorite to land Mayer’s services, particularly given the invaluable addition 6-9 Oklahoma transfer Brady Manek proved to be this past season, along the course of North Carolina’s magical ride to the Final Four and national championship game.
Mayer had been in contact with the Tar Heels since entering the transfer portal just prior to the May 1 deadline. He’ll be a fifth-year senior next season, after maintaining his college eligibility while going through the NBA pre-draft process, which allows prospects to work out and meet with NBA teams for the purpose of gaining feedback on their professional standing.
He participated in the NBA Draft Combine last week in Chicago. He said last weekend that he would withdraw from the draft pool, well before the June 1 deadline to pull out of NBA consideration.
Coach Hubert Davis and UNC saw Mayer up close in March. North Carolina escaped No. 1 seed Baylor in overtime that day in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32.
Mayer supplied 9.8 points and 5 rebounds per game this past season, his fourth year at Baylor, while shooting 40.9% from the field and 32.4% from 3-point range. He came off the bench and connected on 39.5% of his 3-point attempts for Baylor’s 2020-21 team that won the NCAA title. He scored 8.1 points per game during that season, a key contributor and capable defender in a defined role for the Bears.
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Adam Smith is a sports reporter for the Burlington Times-News and USA TODAY Network. You can reach him by email at asmith@thetimesnews.com or @adam_smithTN on Twitter.
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This article originally appeared on Times-News: UNC basketball: Baylor transfer target Matthew Mayer chooses Illinois
