What's next for Illinois basketball? Transfer portal, NBA, recruiting and more
The Illinois basketball program remained among the top programs in the nation with a fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Illini won 22 games, including a game in March Madness for the fourth time in five seasons.
The season ended Sunday with a loss to Kentucky in the Round of 32, and coach Brad Underwood and staff don't have much time to take stock. Roster reconstruction begins now.
"It's literally just next step. It's speed dating. It's gathering information, figuring out what you're trying to do," Underwood said Sunday. "We got a lot of really smart people on our staff who've been working really hard at it, gathering information. ... I imagine our bus ride home won't be watching film on this one, it'll be figuring out what our roster looks like for 25-26."
So what's next? From losing players to the NBA, graduation losses, the transfer portal and incoming recruits, we take a look at what is to come for the Illini.
Illinois basketball players headed to the NBA
First, the bad news. Illinois likely will lose to the NBA two of its best players in Lithuanian freshman Kasparas Jakucionis and Canadian freshman Will Riley. Both are expected to be first-round picks in the upcoming draft. Here's a look at the duo, their stats and where they are slated to be selected, according to various internet mock drafts:
Kasparas Jakucionis
- The numbers: 6-foot-6, 205-pound guard, averaged 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists in 2024-25.
- Projected: No. 4 overall to New Orleans (Kyle Boone of CBS Sports); No. 5 overall to Brooklyn (tankathon.com); No. 6 overall to Brooklyn (thedraftroom.com); 11th overall to Miami (BleacherReport.com); No. 12 overall to Orlando (nbadraft.net).
Will Riley
- The numbers: 6-foot-8, 195 pounds, averaged 12.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists in 2024-25.
- Projected: No. 23 overall to Memphis (nbadraft.net); No. 17 overall to Oklahoma City (thedraftroom.com); 21st overall to Utah (BleacherReport.com); 25th overall to Orlando (tankathon.com)
Illinois and international players
In addition to Jakucionis and Riley, another international player — Croatian sophomore big man Tomislav Ivisic — is an NBA prospect. He could stick around Champaign another season, but did not commit Sunday when asked by Illini Inquirer.
Illinois has a shown a deft ability to navigate the international game, something Underwood thinks fits his team well. So far, the Illini have been reported to be in the running for Serbian 7-footer Aleksa Dimitrijevic and also in the mix for 21-year-old Israeli guard Or Ashkenazi, according to recruiting expert Joe Tipton of On3.com.
"It's a small world that way ... every month, every six weeks, we're somewhere in Europe, our staff," Underwood said this weekend. "It fits our university. We have a very diverse university with a lot of international students. I love coaching them. I think there's a maturity and a love for the game that I have great appreciation for.
"So we're continuing to recruit over there, and (Name, Image and Likeness) has helped us be able to go get some of those top players, and we'll continue to be involved in that market."
Illinois and the NCAA transfer portal
The NCAA transfer portal opens on Monday, March 24 — and expect Underwood to be active. Illinois has navigated the portal very well over the last couple seasons — bringing in multiple key contributors.
In 2024-25, Kylan Boswell (Arizona), Ben Humrichous (Evansville) and Tre White (Louisville) were rotation players, while Jake Davis (Mercer) averaged about 10 minutes per game. Of those, only the graduating Humrichous is out of eligibility — although because he played his early career in the NAIA, might have the chance to return for one more season under the Diego Pavia exception.
Boswell and White said Sunday they intend to return next season, according to Matthew Stevens of IlliniGuys.com.
Expect Underwood to be active again in the portal, with a couple of names already getting interest from the Illini, according to Tipton of On3.com: 6-10 forward Nick Davidson of Nevada and 6-3 guard Jacari White of North Dakota State.
Who are Illinois' top returnees?
Boswell and White each said they expect to return, and getting Ivisic back would be huge. Other returnees who could take steps forward are freshman big man Morez Johnson Jr. and guard Dra Gibbs-Lawthorn. The Illini also have a pair of redshirts from this season in Ty Rodgers (who started every game in 2023-24) and Jason Jakstys (a freshman from Yorkville). They could be part of the mix in 2025-26.
"It's always about (retention)," Underwood said Sunday, according to Illini Inquirer's Derek Piper. "Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of control of that. Last year, we were very old ... I thought we had a group this year that I enjoyed coaching. We set out to get positional size, shooting."
Illinois high school recruiting Class of 2025
In the Class of 2025, Illinois signed a pair of four-star high school recruits in Keaton Wagler, a 6-foot-6 guard from Shawnee (Kansas) Mission Northwest, and 6-3 guard Brandon Lee of The Patrick School in Hillside, New Jersey.
Illinois has an additional dozen or so offers out to high schoolers, according to Verbal Commits.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Illinois basketball roster analysis: Transfer portal, recruits, NBA players
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