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CHAMPAIGN – Player after player flooded the transfer portal in March. The total number of transfers from last year was exceeded at the end of the month. Over 1000 new players available.
Illinois avoided unsubscribing from the list that month. April? Now that’s another story.
The Illini suffered a fairly significant blow on Thursday with first-year goaltender Adam Miller entering the transfer portal.
“Adam has been a big part of our success this season, starting every game as a rookie and helping not only on offense but also defensively,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said in an official statement. “He has a very bright future ahead of him and we wish him good luck.”
The ramification of Miller’s intention to transfer only hastens the rebuilding of Illinois’ off-season roster. The Illini were already looking for some background help before Miller entered the portal with Ayo Dosunmu likely after the 2020-21 season. It only intensifies now with Miller out of the picture.
The Illini have open offers for Class 2021 Guards Brandin Podziemski, TyTy Washington, Wesley Cardet and Jaylen Blakes and have expressed interest this week in Tamar Bates, who withdrew from Texas after Shaka Smart left to be the new trainer for Marquette.
The transfer portal, with nearly 1,200 players available with the start of April, could also be an option. Texas Tech transfer and former Illini recruiting target Nimari Burnett is expected to make a decision on April 8, with Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Oregon, USC and Vanderbilt also in the running. Illinois has also been linked with Florida transfer agent Noah Locke.
Miller would likely have played a key role in Illinois in 2021-22 after starting all 31 games last season. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard opened his eyes when he set a new program record with 28 points in his debut, which included the showdown of 6 of 8 three-pointers in the opening victory of Illinois’ season against North Carolina A&T.
Miller scored in double digits in 13 games and established his Big Ten with 18 points against Nebraska with Dosunmu sidelined at the end of February. His role fluctuated throughout the season, but he ended up averaging 8.3 points and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 39.1% overall and 34% from three points.
Miller was part of a 1-2 recruiting coup for Illinois in the Class of 2020 with compatriot Andre Curbelo. The Peoria native was a consensus four-star rookie and was ranked 30th in the class by ESPN, picking the Illini out of the top three which also included Arizona and Louisville.
Miller enlisted in Illinois on November 21, 2019 and signed on April 22, 2020, just over three months before Dosunmu removed his name from the NBA Draft and chose to return for a third season with the Illini. The move changed Miller’s role in Champaign, but the Illinois rookie has consistently mentioned throughout the season what he’s learning from his former high school teammate at Morgan Park.
“For me, I’ve never really been a rushing guy to leave,” Miller said towards the end of the 2020-2021 season. “I’m a winner. I came here to win. I came here to get better. It’s not like I packed my bags or anything. I came to play for this school. Have ( Dosunmu) here really helped me.
“My production may not be that much, but we’re winning and I’m learning at the same time. He’s been in these shoes and he’s teaching me a lot. It might not show up on the stats sheet or come up big every night, but I’ve grown a lot. I feel like the more chances I have to show it, the more people will see it. “
Miller’s transfer of decision coupled with Dosunmu’s likely departure for the NBA, the chance Kofi Cockburn could do the same and the uncertainty over whether senior citizens Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams will benefit from their year of eligibility Linked to the pandemic means Illinois may need to replace most of its rotation for the 2021-22 season. If all left, it would mean the Illini would lose five of their top six scorers, with only Curbelo remaining among that group. Junior forwards Jacob Grandison and Giorgi Bezhanishvili were the other two players in what was mostly an eight-man rotation at the end of last season.
Scott Richey is a journalist covering college basketball at The News-Gazette. His email is [email protected], and you can follow him on Twitter (@srrichey).
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