Michigan Basketball: Illinois looking stout in Big Ten after another transfer

Michigan basketball is expected to be a contender in the Big Ten next season but Illinois is looking like a big-time threat after another major transfer addition. 

The transfer portal and the free one-time transfer have definitely brought major changes to college basketball.

Michigan basketball has added talent in the transfer portal this offseason, but not as much as it would have liked. Jailen Llewellyn transferred to Michigan from Princeton which was followed up by the departure of Frankie Collins.

Llewellyn should still be an upgrade, especially with his shooting ability. However, the loss of Collins still hurt, especially because Michigan basketball missed out on another key transfer target — Terrence Shannon.

Shannon took a visit to Michigan and there was a strong indication he was going to commit. However, he was going to lose credits due to the admissions process at the University of Michigan, which has a cap on how many transfer credits it will allow in from other instituions.

Shannon would have been an ideal fit. He’s a strong defender and can play the two, as well as the three. Making it worse was the fact that Shannon wound up at Illinois, which will be one of the top contenders for the Big Ten title next year.

Well on Friday, Illinois made another major move in the portal adding former Baylor power forward Matthew Mayer.

Why it’s so frustrating for Michigan basketball fans

If Michigan loses Caleb Houstan or Moussa Diabate to the NBA draft as expected, Mayer would have been an ideal fit for the Wolverines to play alongside Hunter Dickinson, however, Michigan was never a true contender for Mayer, who committed to the Illini on Friday.

Illinois lost Kofi Cockburn and Trent Frazier, but the lineup still looks really good, especially with the addition of Skyy Clark too.

It’s frustrating because Michigan is going to need to add some top-tier talent in the portal if Houstan and Diabate leave, yet, it feels like there is no way of making it happen.

We broke down some potential transfer-portal additions, but outside of Emoni Bates, who did express serious interest that wasn’t reciprocated, or maybe someone like Patrick Baldwin Jr, it’s hard to see the Wolverines making a major move.

They still have Hunter Dickinson and a number of big-time recruits. But it’s hard to shake the feeling that Michigan is fighting with one hand tied behind its back.