The first domino of the Illinois off season has fallen. Sophomore Guard Alan Griffin announced via Twitter that he will be leaving the Illini and entering his name in the transfer portal. This is a rather shocking move, and one that blindsided a lot of Illinois fans. Griffin starred for Illinois this season, showing the most improvement out of anyone on the roster. The 6’5″ New York Native was Brad Underwood’s best 3 point marksman, connecting on 41% of his attempts from behind the arc.

Griffin saw all of his stats improve this season, pushing his points per game up to 8.9. He was a solid rebounding threat, especially on the offensive end. The Archbishop Stepinac HS Alum grabbed 4.5 boards per game. I would argue that he was the team’s second best rebound man, behind Kofi Cockburn of course.

AG’s announcement has left Illini fans speculating as to why? Many are pointing to Underwood’s decision to not start the Sophomore after plenty of head turning performances off the bench. Others are saying Griffin is heading to Duke to join his younger brother Adrian Griffin Jr. Whatever the case may be, sources have told The Brew Party that this decision is being heavily influenced by Alan’s mother, Audrey. According to my sources, She believes that Alan needs the ball in his hands and deserves a bigger role. Keep in mind, due to the whole COVID-19 epidemic, Griffin has been in quarantine with his mom for 12 days. Could that have something to do with this decision? I was told that Alan’s dad, former NBA player and current Toronto Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin Sr. is a fan of Brad Underwood and wanted Alan to stay. Obviously I am not apart of their family and haven’t talked to any of them, this is just what I am hearing from my Illini inside sources.

This announcement has led some of the Illinois faithful to think that Ayo Dosunmu might return for his Junior season, and Griffin was afraid he would see his minutes decrease. I don’t believe this at all. From every thing I have been told, Ayo will be entering the NBA Draft. I’ve seen other people speculating that Griffin was unhappy about the possibility of incoming Freshmen Andre Curbelo and Adam Miller taking his minutes away. I just don’t see that either. Brad Underwood went with 4 guards in the starting line up for the majority of the last half of the conference schedule after the well known struggles of Giorgi Bezhanishvili. In my opinion, there would be no reason why the Illini wouldn’t go with a similar type of line up next season. It would be hard for the Illinois coaching staff to keep Griffin out of the starting 5 if that was the case, as his scoring was incredibly valuable in 2019.

Transfers Jacob Grandison and Austin Hutcherson sat out the 19-20 season and will be eligible to begin their Illini careers in the 20-21 season. They both stand at 6’6″ and could see increased roles on the wing. Can either of them step up to bolster this team’s 3 point shooting? Someone will have to. Will the Illini lose anyone else to the transfer portal? That remains to be seen. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tevian Jones move on. He struggled to find the floor after serving the second suspension of his Illini career. This kept him out for a slew of early games this season. He is a player that I could see going elsewhere for a fresh start. That’s not to say that I want to see Jones go, I consider myself to be a Tev Jones guy, I loved what he brought to the floor during his Freshman season. It was disappointing to say the least to see him not really get a chance to build on that this season. If given the opportunity could Tevian Jones take over the wing spot for Brad Underwood? I wouldn’t hate it. Jones has great size and has shown he can hit from the outside. But can he be a consistent contributor?

I was pretty shocked when I heard the Alan Griffin news, and honestly pretty bummed about it. AG quickly became one of my favorite Illini this past season and I was excited to see him continue to grow and contribute in an Illinois uniform. His most memorable moment would have to be the Northwestern game. Griffin scored a career high 24 points, lighting up the Wildcats. He seemingly couldn’t miss, connecting on 9 of his 11 shots, 6 of those being three pointers. The Guard pulled down 7 rebounds to round out what may have been his best game in an Illini uniform. I wish him all the best at his next stop, wherever that may be. Good Luck, Alan. Thanks for an unforgettable season.

Images:

https://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/2020/01/21/alan-griffin-step-purdue/

https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-illinois-basketball-alan-griffin-20200324-gohg3rhif5fyxbobekq67meefm-story.html

Stats:

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/alan-griffin-1.html