Illinois’ Jermaine Hamilton Enters Transfer Portal

Illinois got some disappointing news this week as fans learned center Jermaine Hamilton would be entering the transfer portal. Hamilton projected to be one of the team’s top reserve pieces with the loss of Kofi Cockburn. His departure will leave quite a void in the frontcourt for head coach Brad Underwood and his staff to fill this offseason.

During his two seasons in Champaign, Hamilton’s on-court contributions were pretty minimal. He played in 24 total games and averaged 1.0 points and 0.4 rebounds per game last season. However, much of this had to do with the team’s star talent in front of him, including an NBA talent in Cockburn. After all, it’s hard to complain much about a player’s contributions when he has two proven players in front of him on the depth chart.

The good news is there should be plenty of options available to Underwood and his staff on the transfer market this year to replace Hamilton and the team’s other frontcourt minutes. Expect some serious recruiting over the next few months. We’ll have to stay tuned to see how things sort out.