Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular

April 21, 2025

This week has been crazy for Illini basketball and football fans. The transfer portal is wide open in both college basketball and college football and Illini fans are waiting to see which players will end up in Champaign and which players will be on their way to other schools. The stress level is elevating as fans focus on those leaving while anticipating who will arrive.

Portal Kombat is a wonderful time of the year!

Heat Check #1 – When will the Illini Basketball Team Add More Players

With the exits of Morez Johnson, Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, Carey Booth, and Tre White, via the Transfer Portal and with Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley declaring for the NFL Draft, many Illini fans are nervous. Even with the additions of Zvonimir Ivišić from the Transfer Portal and David Mirkovic (from Europe like Tomislav Ivišić and Jakucionis last season), fans are concerned for the health of the overall Illini roster for the 2025-26 basketball season.

One must remember that at this point last year, Kasparas Jakucionis was still one month from committing to the Illini (May 28, 2024) and Will Riley was still two months away (June 24, 2024). This does not mean there’s no reason to feel some degree of concern, but it does illustrate that a team can come together much later than is healthy for fan peace of mind.

The rapid escalation of spending is something that has been a concern of mine. At the IlliniGuys golf tournament (2 years ago), Coach Underwood and I discussed my thoughts on this happening each off season. Investments would rise as teams watched the success of schools that managed the portal well during the NCAA tournament.

For most teams, the NIL budget that looked healthy in early March now looks woefully short of funds as lesser players sign deals for money that was nearly unimaginable just a few months ago. This means patience must be in order as a coaching staff must simultaneously evaluate constantly changing talent, sell a few players on coming to their school, and keep fundraising behind the scenes as prices escalate quickly.

More and more, it’s becoming clear that an Athletic Department needs a General Manager (GM) for their football and basketball programs, and he/she must be closely attached to the fundraising arm of the NIL program. The success of the teams on the field/court will be directly influenced by the talent of their GM. Coaching staffs can’t be expected to effectively handle all the responsibilities discussed in the prior paragraph. Just because you can coach a sport doesn’t mean you’re going to be a great talent evaluator, deal negotiator and fundraiser.

We will see who the Illini land in their quest to build the 2025-26 roster. It’s hard to even speculate due to the dollars being thrown around and the number of players who can vacillate quickly between choices, make quick choices, or even baffle experts with unexpected school selections.

I am confident the staff will land players. I also know they’re looking for more athleticism and a team that will be older than last year’s team. Beyond that, we will see who is in the right place at the right time to be the next players to don an Illini basketball uniform. When they commit is anyone's question.

Like last year, the final grade on their effort will be given out in April - but not this April. The grade will be earned in April of next year, not this year.

Strap on your seat belts as this could be a fun ride but there are going to be some ups and downs.

Hail Mary #1 – Illini’s Highest Ranked Football Recruit Decommits for Texas A&M

This week, the Fighting Illini lost their top-ranked 2026 recruit, cornerback Victor Singleton from Toledo, Ohio to the Texas A&M Aggies.

Make no mistake, Singleton is a very talented cornerback. In the words of IlliniGuys Recruiting Analyst Steve Sturm, “Singleton is already advanced enough that he could play for a mid-major right now as a high school junior.” His loss was a big one, but at least the timing allows the Illini coaching staff time to recruit a player – either out of the portal or from high schools – to replace Singleton.

It may be painful for Illini fans, but the situation is far from shocking. Texas A&M is one of the schools that is reputed to have nearly limitless NIL funds. Add to that the Aggies have been challenged by the resurgence of Texas Longhorn football and snagging a player of Singleton’s potential was a big boost for the Aggies.

Did NIL funds make a difference? It’s hard to tell for certain, but make no mistake, the Aggies are mentioned as having a war chest equal to schools like Texas, Ohio State, Georgia, and Oregon. If it came down to dollars and cents, A&M is not going to lose a bidding war to many schools, if any.

Regardless of the Victor Singleton situation, this should clarify for Illini fans why it is so important for Bret Bielema and his staff to not only promote, but to create and live the “FamILLy” culture. Illinois (and most of the country’s schools) cannot match the funding of a select few programs, but they can create an atmosphere that players will want to be a part of.

By every account I see and hear as an Illini Aggregator (this is a term I created and use to define myself because I’m not an Illini Insider, but I constantly talk to Illini Insiders and to folks in and around the program), Bielema has been successful at executing his plan. Let’s underline that the true key to creating a family environment is not the marketing of the environment – but the actual creation of the environment.

Bielema had a vision of the football program he wanted to lead, and he’s worked hard to create that reality. The relationships he works to create and maintain with his players and staff are real and deep. Almost as important is the fact his staff has followed his example.

In this one example, the pull for Singleton to Texas A&M was too strong, for whatever reason. Based on results of the transfer portal over Bielema’s tenure, I’d say the creation of FamILLy has been very successful for a program working its way back up the competitive ladder step-by-step.

There’s no reason to feel like the plan and the FamILLy environment is failing, but if you would like to donate to help with NIL, I’m sure any Illini Coach would appreciate your support. Go to www.ICONforIllini.com to help create a better NIL environment for the Illini if you’d like to.

No matter what happens, while Bret Bielema is running the Illini football program, FamILLy will be the way of the Illini football world.

Hail Mary #2 - Josh McCray Lands on his Feet as a Georgia Bulldog

Josh McCray, Bret Bielema's first commit as the head coach of the Fighting Illini football team, surprised many by jumping into the Transfer Portal this week. On Sunday, it was revealed that he will be a Bulldog running back in the fall. I was surprised that Josh left for the SEC. Maybe I shouldn't have been.

This situation is one that the new NIL rules coupled with the instantaneous eligibility Transfer Portal feature will likely become more common. A talented collegiate player can make a big difference for a team. Being a talented collegiate player does not guarantee a future in the NFL or the earnings that come with that career path. But players who can make a difference could be targeted by schools/teams that can pay more for a single, critical roster piece. There have been other situations where the Illini came out on top to grab a critical piece for their roster - think backup quarterback for example. It's a dog-eat-dog world and on Sunday, this time, the Illini were the team with milk bone underwear.

With only 2.5% of college football players playing in the NFL, if you're a college player who has one school offering you big dollars to transfer, you almost have to take it if your current school can't match the offer. We will find out the facts and figures later as these things tend to come out over time. If the dollars are there, I would tell any player from any team under these circumstances to take the money and set themselves up for a better life after college. One year can be life changing for a player - and more power to them for making it happen.

Sure, a player has to move, meet new teammates, deal with a new coaching staff, and restart his life somewhere else. No doubt that is a pain in the posterior, but let's stop for a second and think about what we would've done if someone would've offered us a down payment on a house (or even an entire house) to study for one year at a new school back in our undergrad/post-grad days? Who would say "no" to such a life changing offer? Very few would do so.

There are times that common sense overrides one's heart. This looks like one of those times. Finances over fun.

I wish Josh good luck, unless he plays the Illini in the CFP next season.

He will have the chance to use that money to make sure his post college life is better than it might've been otherwise. If the NFL comes a calling, then that is icing on the cake. And being featured by Georgia, maybe that can happen, too.

It's an exciting time to be a college football or basketball player and a crazy time to be a coach trying to navigate through the choppy waters of NIL and the Transfer Portal.

Go Illini!