Brad Underwood now has an open scholarship to fill for next season. For the second time in two days, Illinois basketball has lost a player to the transfer portal. Former 4 star recruit Tevian Jones has announced that he will be continuing his basketball career elsewhere. This move should surprise no one. After serving an 8 game suspension to begin the year, Jones struggled to find opportunities on the floor. Jones joins Alan Griffin on the list of Illinois transfers.

The 6’7″ Sophomore only appeared in 10 games this season, averaging .9 points and .8 rebounds per game. Obviously Illinois isn’t losing a lot of production here, Jones season high for points was 6, coming in Illinois loss at Rutgers. Tevian was never really given a chance to prove himself during games, often being pulled after only a minute or two of play. Underwood held Jones on a short leash, and it was obvious. You can’t really blame Brad Underwood for doing so either, Jones couldn’t seem to stay out of trouble, serving a suspension in both of his seasons in the Orange and Blue.

By all accounts, Jones was working hard to try to get back to getting some regular minutes. Underwood has stated multiple times that he is not afraid to sit anybody, and that you have to earn every minute of playing time. He praised Jones after the Rutgers game, citing a very strong work ethic that Tevian had been putting forward behind the scenes. The writing was on the wall for most of the season, most fans speculated that Jones would be moving on. Actually, people seemed to be convinced he was leaving after his Freshman season. I was super high on him during his Freshman campaign, where he showed flashes that he could be a solid contributor on the wing. His most memorable moment would have to be his 18 point performance in Illinois upset victory over Maryland at Madison Square Garden in 2018.

Look for the Illini coaching staff to hit the transfer market hard. They now have an open scholarship for next season, and there could potentially be more. Ayo hasn’t announced his decision yet and we could see more players transfer out of the program. On Episode 5 of The Brew Party Podcast, Lucas Wilson told me all about potential transfer targets, according to Lucas, Illinois has been linked to names like Ohio State’s DJ Carton, Wichita Sate’s Jamarious Burton, and Pitt’s Trey McGowens.

What we do know is, Illinois staff has two transfers available to them for the 20-21 season, one has to believe they were brought in for this very situation. 6’6″ G/F Jacob Grandison joined the Illini last season after transferring from Holy Cross. As a Sophomore for the Crusaders, the Oakland California native was the team’s leading scorer, posting 13.9 points per game, connecting on 42% of his attempts from the field. He managed to knock down 36% of his three pointers, something Illinois will need going forward. Grandison is not just a scoring threat. During the 18-19 season, he added 5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game to his resume. He should bring some versatility to Underwood’s line up, seeing as he able to play the guard or forward position.

Austin Hutcherson is another 6’6″ guard that Underwood added to his roster last season. The New York native spent his first two seasons of college ball at Wesleyan, a Division III program in Connecticut. Legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick is a Wesleyan grad. Hutcherson was able to garner the attention of D1 coaches after his Sophomore season. The guard was lethal on the offensive end, pouring in 20 points per game (albeit, versus D3 competition) but, obviously Brad Underwood saw something he liked. Talented players slip through the cracks every year. Like Grandison, the RS Junior can do more than score, he was able to add 5.6 boards and dished out 3.2 dimes per game. Hutcherson will look to follow in the footsteps of current NBA player Duncan Robinson, who became a solid contributor for Michigan after transferring in from a Division III program.

Both players seem to have similar skill sets, which also happen to be similar to Alan Griffin’s game. How will they fare against Big Ten competition? The talent they will face on a nightly basis will be a lot different than what they are used to seeing at Holy Cross and Wesleyan, respectively. That doesn’t mean they can’t do it, they’ve been practicing with the team all season. That should be a nice preview of what they will see in game action. Another question for me is, will they be reliable three point shooters? Alan Griffin was this team’s biggest three point threat, and his 41% from beyond the arc will be missed. Both Grandison and Hutcherson will have two years of eligibility left at Illinois.

Tevian, you were one of my favorite Illini, and someone I had always hoped would get a chance at a bigger role. I do not blame you one bit for moving on, a fresh start will do wonders. Best of luck to wherever you end up, Sir. Illini nation thanks you!

Header Image:

https://www.si.com/college/illinois/basketball/illinois-tevian-jones-suspension-oct-2019