What high player-turnover means for Illinois Basketball

There is no doubt that in this new era of college basketball — and college sports in general — turnover is more than bound to happen. Players can leave and make tons of money in other places in any season, and I don’t blame them.

However, Illinois in recent years has had far more turnover than the average school.

Here is the number of transfer-outs that each Big Ten program has for this offseason.

• 1 – Northwestern
• 3 – IU, Iowa, Purdue
• 5 – Michigan, Maryland, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers
• 6 – Minnesota, (soon to be) Illinois (Hawkins)
• 7 – Wisconsin

Looking at this, it seems like Illinois is middle of the pack for transfers, but then adding in 6 graduating players, Illinois only has 2 returning players (Dra-Gibbs Lawhorn and Ty Rodgers).

Let’s look at some of those teams that are near Illinois on the list, and how many returning players they have.

• Michigan – 3
• Minnesota – 5
• Nebraska – 8

Michigan is the only team to really compare to Illinois’ number, but it also should be noted that as it stands, Illinois is in a much, much better position than Michigan basketball. All of the other programs combat their transfer numbers somewhat with returning players, however Illinois is going all-in on newcomers. Will it work?

It’s hard to say, because we haven’t seen it yet.

It seems like we’ve seen this happen over the past few seasons, but none have been as drastic as this season. Last year we saw eight returning players from the 2022-23 team, and the year before that, it was five.

Don’t get me wrong, the transfers Illinois is bringing in are fantastic. Boswell, Booth, Humrichous, White, and Davis are all amazing basketball players, and the big-name recruits of Johnson and Jakucionis should be able to make an immediate impact.

The transfers Illinois got last season and the year before were what really pushed the team to be what it was during the Elite Eight run. Shannon was playing like an all-time player, Domask was a perfect offensive complement, Guerrier and Harmon played their roles to perfection (but feel free to disagree!).

However, the most pressing question about this type of roster building is that if this type of roster construction sustainable. One thing I have noticed is that in the last few years the team has had to take time to “mesh.” In the early stages of the season, there have been some bad games like the Penn State and Missouri games in 2022-23, or this season, the back-to-back Marquette and Cincinnati losses in the season prior to that. With new players, comes the time it takes for them to learn to play with each other in-game.

The good news for these teams? It is more than figured out by the end, or even Big Ten play. In three of the past four seasons, Illinois has claimed some portion of the Big Ten regular season or tournament title, that should be enough to prove that.

My personal vendetta

TCR // Jack Jungmann

I like watching players grow.

Coleman Hawkins has been my favorite player the past two years because I’ve seen him grow as a player and as a person, and that’s what makes college basketball, college basketball.

I don’t mean to go full-on old man at 20 years old, but when it’s new players transferring in every single year and new players winning every single year, it feel more like rooting for the uniform than the players themselves.

I love Brad Underwood and what he’s done for the program has been amazing, and winning basketball games is winning basketball games. I just wish it was with players we are able to grow up with.

But I will say these Illini teams have done a great job at getting fans to love the transfers. This team last season was one of the most lovable teams in recent memory with the chair push-ins, the Twitter interactions, and the vibe everyone brought. Shannon is a legend on the court, Domask is a fan favorite, and there’s not really an unlikable guy on the team.

Morale of the story?

I should stop complaining and enjoy the ride.