Good Morning, Illini Nation: Transfer rankings
Apr. 15—Sunday's commitment from Arizona transfer Kylan Boswell pushed Illinois to the top spot in the 247Sports transfer rankings with a pair of four-star additions in Boswell and Louisville transfer Tre White and a three-star pick-up in Mercer transfer Jake Davis.
Will the Illini hold on to the top spot when all is said and done? Well, it's too soon to tell. Brad Underwood is certainly not done adding to his roster, but the same holds true for a lot of other programs. Here's how the top five transfer classes stack up:
1. Illinois
The Illini have addressed several areas with their transfer additions. They got their point guard in Boswell (after not having one last season), added positional size with some offensive punch in White and got a knockdown shooter (off movement and off the catch) in Davis.
2. UCLA
Mick Cronin added a couple of intriguing backcourt pieces in Louisville transfer Skyy Clark and crosstown USC transfer Kobe Johnson. Clark was, of course, a five-star prospect at one point with a rather high ceiling. Whether the former Illini hits it in Westwood is to be determined. Johnson is perhaps the more proven commodity as a legitimate two-way backcourt option.
3. Kansas
It's crazy to think the Jayhawks needed more talent, but after going through this past season with exactly zero depth it's true. Bill Self got it with the addition of South Dakota State's Zeke Mayo (a Lawrence, Kan., native who was Summit League Player of the Year) and Florida's Riley Kugel (a bouncy athlete).
4. Louisville
It's a full-on rebuild for new coach Pat Kelsey. Thankfully, for him, he's coaching in the portal era and can make plenty of offseason moves. So far he's brought a pair of players with him from Charleston (James Scott and Reyne Smith) and the real prize so far in James Madison's Terrence Edwards Jr. The Cardinals are also a finalist for BYU big man Aly Khalifa.
5. Memphis
The ranking hasn't updated yet — Maryland is still currently fifth per 247Sports — but when it does the Tigers should move up with the addition of Wichita State transfer Colby Rogers joining former Illinois big man Dain Dainja and former Tulsa guard PJ Haggerty as Memphis newcomers. No surprises Penny Hardaway has been active in the portal early. He's got plenty of roster spots to fill and has turned to the portal to do that the past couple seasons.
