Illinois basketball rumors: Why John Blackwell addition is now ‘highly unlikely’

The Illinois basketball program has been pursuing one of the top transfer guards in the portal this offseason. John Blackwell, formerly of Wisconsin, has been a top target for Brad Underwood’s program. A new report is throwing cold water on the idea that Blackwell will go to the Illini.

“The Illini have invested heavy dollars into those efforts and will have one of the most expensive rosters in college basketball,” 247Sports reported. “While a Blackwell addition would make Illinois one of the top few title favorites in the country, he would’ve been an extremely expensive addition and one that would cause significant role fluctuation — and potentially push others out of the Illini program.”

Illinois recently got the commitment of Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks. It appears that commitment played a role in the Blackwell situation.

“There is only one ball, and Illinois already has plenty of primary playmakers that demand high usage. So a marriage between Blackwell and Illinois, which seemed very possible after the Final Four, now looks highly unlikely,” the outlet added.

The Fighting Illini are coming off their first trip to the Final Four under Underwood. Illinois lost in the national semi-finals to UConn. Illinois is returning several key pieces from that team for the 2026-27 campaign.

At Wisconsin during this past season, Blackwell averaged 19.1 points and 5.1 rebounds. He played three seasons for the Badgers.

Other schools reportedly in the mix for Blackwell include Duke, Louisville and UCLA. Louisville met with Blackwell in recent days. Time will tell where this talented guard decides to take his talents.

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