Survive the portal era: How can Illinois stay ahead?

There is no time to rest in this era of college basketball, as the transfer portal officially opened following the National Championship on Monday night. Coaches used to have two months in April and May to recover from the long season and even take a vacation, but not anymore.

The Illini are already looking for ways to improve their roster for next season, just two days removed from their Final Four loss to UConn. With the departures of seniors Ben Humrichous, Kylan Boswell and A.J. Redd, Illinois will need to replace its production.

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Over 1,500 players have already entered the portal in less than 24 hours, so there will be no shortage of options. Finding the right fit and the right price is a challenge for any coaching staff and front office in this new era of college hoops.

But in recent years, Illinois has done a great job evaluating talent without overpaying for big-name players. Director of Personnel Neel Ganta and Brad Underwood have even implemented a test for potential recruits to evaluate their basketball IQ and better understand how they process the game on the floor.

Neel Ganta – Director of Player Personnel – Men’s Basketball Coaches

That evaluation process has proven successful, with numerous home-run portal additions like Terrence Shannon Jr., Marcus Domask and key contributors from this year’s Final Four team such as Jake Davis, Zvonimir Ivisic and Andrej Stojakovic.

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How can Illinois improve its roster for next season?

Illinois has a strong chance to begin next season ranked in the preseason top 10 nationally if the offseason goes as planned. While the Illini will lose pieces to graduation and likely the transfer portal, they also have a great opportunity to bring back their core for another run.

Andrej Stojakovic, Tomislav Ivisic, Zvonimir Ivisic and Jake Davis could all return to Champaign for one final season, while David Mirkovic could be back for his sophomore year after a breakout freshman campaign. Bringing back those five…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/survive-portal-era-illinois-stay-160619445.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-08 16:06:00

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