Watch now: Illinois basketball nearing end of roster reset | Illini

CHAMPAIGN — After Jacob Grandison’s decision to enter the transfer portal, there is finally a time in the offseason where Illinois knows everything it has coming back.

The team’s five starters from last year’s Big Ten championship team are all leaving, plus sixth man Andre Curbelo.

An offseason rebuild has been in the works since the departure of Kofi Cockburn to the NBA Draft, with the Illini losing over 82% of their minutes from last season’s team.

Brad Underwood’s team has reloaded quickly, adding seven players in the 2022 class and transfer portal.

After adding former four-star recruit Dain Dainja, the Illini got commitments from Baylor wing Matthew Mayer and Texas Tech guard Terrence Shannon Jr. Both Shannon and Mayer were ranked in the top-20 available transfer portal players out of the over 1,700 who entered the portal this offseason.

All seven of the players Illinois added were four-stars out of high school. That means the Illini are adding more four-star players than any other program in the country next season. Incoming freshman Sencire Harris is the only one who isn’t a top-100 recruit and he’s No. 106 in 247sports composite rankings.

The Illini’s roster reset is nearly complete and is prioritizing length and athleticism. After playing the 6-foot-3 Da’Monte Williams or the 6-foot-6 Grandison at the four for long stretches this season, explosive wings like the 6-foot-9 Mayer will be in the spotlight with returners RJ Melendez and Coleman Hawkins.

Illinois will start four players at 6-foot-6 or taller after 7-footer Kofi Cockburn was sometimes the only player with that height on the floor on last season’s team.

The Illini team had a tempo that was almost exactly the average in Division I last season, but that will likely pick up next season. Mayer and Shannon both play better out in the open court while Hawkins and Melendez each were the top open court players for Illinois last season when the team mostly operated in the half court.

Grandison’s departure leaves two spots open for next year’s roster and a couple of needs still to fill.

With five wings who have Power 5 experience plus top-50 recruit Ty Rodgers, the team will have no shortage of depth there, but there isn’t a lot of depth down low or at guard.

The backcourt will consist of Shannon and a trio of freshmen in Skyy Clark, Harris and Jayden Epps, while Dainja is the only player who has consistently played center. Hawkins played in some five-out lineups and will likely do the same next year in spurts.

Illinois has offered former Northwestern big Pete Nance as an option to try and fill in as big depth. Nance is currently in the NBA Draft but will have to choose between staying in or withdrawing before the deadline June 1. He wasn’t given an invite to the NBA combine and instead competed at the G League combine, an indication he will likely go undrafted and compete for a two-way contract if he leaves his name in.

Nance’s older brother, New Orleans Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr., trained in the past with Illinois assistant Tim Anderson, so the Illini could be players if Nance decides to return for a final season of collegiate eligibility.

Nance averaged 14.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists for Northwestern last season with 21 points against the Illini in January. He’s a floor spacer who can shoot from outside and play on the perimeter and facilitate at the five if he’s placed there. Him and Dianja both give Illinois more perimeter-oriented players at the five spot.

After getting a rotation big, Illinois will have one more scholarship left. It’s unclear if that will be used on a veteran guard or if it will be left open for a mid-season addition like last year’s addition of Dainja.

Underwood said he would be “selective” with remaining scholarships and that he prefers to have one open. He also has discussed big depth as a potential need and has expressed early confidence and desire to play the freshman guards minutes early in the season.

“In a perfect world, yes,” Underwood said. “Or two (scholarships open). I think that we’ve got to come to the realization that you’re not playing 13 guys and going to keep all 13 happy. So why bring somebody in here and have them transfer?”