Basketball

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The NCAA transfer portal has been active to start the 2025 cycle, but now it’s time to take a deep breath as the official Dead Period begins from April 3-10.

What exactly is the Dead Period? (No in-person contact is allowed on or off campus, though phone calls and emails are still permitted.)

1. Late last night, 12:30 a.m., to be exact, I received information from a NEW credible source. Let’s start with

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

April 3, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

Much of the transfer portal talk always revolves on who is leaving and who is coming in, but the Illini got much needed news this week as a couple of veterans announced their return. Forward Ty Rodgers and Guard Kylan Boswell announced on their social media accounts that they would be returning for the 2025-26 season and it seems like Tomislav Ivisic is the next key returnee that the Illini have built around. 

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

April 2, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois sophomore guard Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn told IlliniGuys this morning that he plans to enter the transfer portal.

Gibbs-Lawhorn was the only participant from last year’s Elite Eight run to play this season after starting guard Ty Rodgers elected to redshirt hours prior to the season opener. However, Rodgers decision to remain with the program for the 2025-26 season means he will be the lone holdover from that 29-win team two seasons ago.

Gibbs-Lawhorn, a four-star recruit in the 2023 from Lafayette, Ind., attended Word of God Christian Academy (N.C.). He originally committed to Purdue before switching to Illinois on September 30, 2022, for several reasons, according to his father, Ben Gibbs.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

April 2, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – In the midst of hosting former Iowa Hawkeye Josh Dix and planning to host his running mate Pryce Sandfort later in the week, one of the most important jobs as an assistant coach is scouting other teams, running practice, and other duties as assigned. However, in today's world, recruiting may take precedence over them all.

After being a reserve guard in his first two […]

After being a starter on the Illini’s 2024 Elite […]

By Kedric Prince

April 1, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – IlliniGuys is where you need to be for Portal Kombat. My colleagues Brad Sturdy and Matt Stevens will work hard to keep you (Illini Nation) up to date with the most current news regarding Illinois athletics.

Let's get started with what I learned today in the transfer world.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

March 30, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Of all of the players who may opt to leave the Illinois basketball program this spring, the abrupt departure of Morez Johnson Jr. stings the most.

Illini Nation has been waiting since Christmas 2021 for the Chicago teen to arrive on campus. He committed during his sophomore season at St. Rita and continued to develop into an interior beast on both ends. Johnson was known for his athleticism and agility, playing with a passion that would land him as Illinois' Mr. Basketball last season.

Illinois head coach Shauna Green hopes her program can build off the first NCAA Tournament win in 25 years with an injection of youth and nationally-relevant talent ready to contribute immediately.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 31, 2025

CHAMPAIGN — The way Illinois head coach Shauna Green builds her basketball roster isn’t necessarily a champion of a ‘get old, stay old’ transfer portal era offseason theory of her sport.

With the second round loss to Texas in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, which followed the Illini’s first NCAA win in 25 years, Green and her staff knew an era of Illini women’s basketball was ending and a transition everybody in the Ubben Basketball Complex had been trying to push back as long as possible was coming.

March 31, 2025

It was a wild weekend for Illini Nation as fans across the globe withstood the shock of freshman power forward Morez Johnson Jr. entering the transfer portal.

Our sources tell us that Illinois upped its NIL offer significantly, but the Chicago native decided he can find a better fit - and perhaps a bigger bag - elsewhere.

Hence the world of Portal Kombat, where nothing is set in stone - even a player saying they want to return to the team next season - until the NIL contract is signed on the dotted line.

So...next up! IlliniGuys.com Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy has an update on who the coaches are targeting for next season. Granted, recruiting is fluid and fast-moving, so this could be outdated next hour. So be sure to click the button above and sign up for IlliniGuys.com to get the most up-to-date recruiting news immediately inside our premium message boards!

Tre White’s time in an Illinois jersey has come to an end after just one season and 32 games of the 2024-25 season.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March xx, 2025

Tre White has officially become the first consistent member of the Illinois starting lineup from the 2024-25 season to enter the transfer portal. 

The 6-foot-7 wing has informed the Illini coaching staff his intentions to entered the transfer portal after playing 32 games of the previous season at Illinois that ended with a second round loss to Kentucky in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. White started 31 games this past season with the Illini while averaging 10.5 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game while leading all consistent starters in field goal percentage (50.7) and free throw percentage (82.4) in 23.4 minutes per game. 

Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular March 29, 2025 Just […]

The one-year playing tenure of Morez Johnson, the 2024 Illinois Mr. Basketball selection, at the University of Illinois has ended as he has elected to enter the transfer portal.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 28, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Morez Johnson has entered the transfer portal after just one season at the University of Illinois.

The 6-foot-9 forward/center played in 30 games with eight starts in his first season of college basketball after signing with his home state program as four-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class. Johnson averaged 7.1 points per game and was second on the team in rebounding at 6.7 per game on a team that advanced to the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Johnson had five points and seven rebounds in the 84-75 loss to Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament second round game that ended the Illini’s 2024-25 season.

6-foot-10 forward Carey Booth’s one-year tenure at Illinois has […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

March 27, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Fighting Illini's head coaches, Brad Underwood of the men's basketball program and Bret Bielema of the football team, appear to be teaming up to land the state's top football recruit, Nasir Rankin. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound athlete, who stars as a wide receiver, is also one of Illinois' top five basketball prospects in his class.