How Illinois feels about John Blackwell pursuit with UCLA, Louisville joining Duke as threats

The Illinois basketball team is looking to rebuild after the team’s run to the Final Four, in the 2026 NCAA tournament. Illinois is working aggressively in the transfer portal to add talent. One player they are looking at closely is Wisconsin transfer guard John Blackwell, per 247Sports.

Blackwell has trimmed his list of possible destinations, and Illinois is in the mix. Illinois is getting competition for his services from several blue-blood programs, including Louisville, Duke and UCLA.

“Of course, Duke has a great sell and deep resources, and UCLA and Louisville have entered the chat, which will continue to drive up the price. No one is sure where he’ll end up, but Illinois has been the constant in this recruitment and they’ll be in this until the end,” the outlet reported.

Blackwell had an outstanding 2025-26 season with the Badgers. He averaged a little more than 19 points per game, along with 5.1 rebounds.

Illinois has picked up a key transfer already. That is Providence transfer star Stefan Vaaks, who averaged nearly 16 points per game for the Friars this past season.

The Illini have high expectations for the 2026-27 season. Illinois wants to reach the national championship, after nearly getting there during the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

Underwood is proud of his team for getting so far this past season.

“Our staff deserves all the credit,” Illinois head coach Underwood said, per the outlet. “I thought we managed it. I thought we had unbelievable role players. I thought we had every piece of the puzzle. It wasn’t without challenges because of injuries and different sicknesses, but they did an unbelievable job. I have an unbelievable staff, and we’ll go do it again.”

Time will tell if the Illini land Blackwell in the transfer portal. Other incoming players for Illinois include four-star high school player Lucas Morillo.

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