Below is my updated list of bigs who remain in the transfer portal and stand out to me.
Player's height, 2023-4 school and class year, and points/rebounds/blocks averages are listed.
I looked for players listed at 6’3” and taller that had some kind of production last year. A number of players have ties to Illinois, to our coaching staff, or to players on our roster.
I don't have any special insight into who is being targeted by the Illini staff, who has visited or will visit.
Some of the below probably are not true center defenders. For example, Cameron Williams is more of a forward, but has a local tie, so stands out in that respect. I’d be happy pairing a very good, athletic stretch forward with Bostic in small ball lineups, but will echo the constant refrain that we regardless will need someone who is a viable match up option against the true centers that we will face.
It has been noted that Kiki Iriafen and Raegen Beers have issued “do not contact” notices and thus likely already know their destinations (probably not us). Still, they obviously stand out.
It won’t be easy to land targets. Shauna Green said last offseason that it is always a competitive market for transfer portal bigs. Per her words, every program wants a quality big from the portal.
List:
*Kiki Iriafen - 6’3” Stanford (JR) averaged 19 points, 11 assists, and 0.6 blocks per game
*Raegen Beers - 6’4” Oregon State (SO) 18/10/1.3
*Janiah Barker - 6’4” Texas A&M (SO) 12/8/0.7. Athletic inside/outside game. Played with Cori Allen at Montverde.
*Timea Gardiner - 6’3” Oregon State (SO) 12/7/0.5
*Maryam Dauda - 6’4” Arkansas (SO) 10/6/2.2
*Amari DeBerry - 6’6” UCONN (JR) 1/1/0.3 former McDonald’s All American from same high school as Gretchen Dolan.
*Natalija Marshall 6’5” Notre Dame (JR) 5/4/1 Played substantial minutes.
*Maya Peat - 6’6” Arkansas Pine Bluff (GR) 11/6/1.3
*Tenin Magassa - 6’5” Rhode Island (SR) 7/5/2 from France. Started career at Dayton.
*Kyla Oldacre - 6’6” Miami, FL (SO) 5/4/1 from southwest Ohio. Had a scholarship offer in high school from Green, then at Dayton. Played 16 minutes per game for a team that was ranked during the year.
*Malea Williams - 6’4” Cincinnati (SR) 8/6/1
*Isnelle Natabou - 6’5” Iowa State (JR) 6/5/0.3. Natabou stood out to me last offseason when she was in the portal coming off two productive years at Sacramento State. At ISU, she played limited minutes behind honorable mention All American, Audi Crooks.
*Elle Evans - 6’3” North Dakota St (SO) 16/5/1 from Edwardsville, IL
*Cameron Williams - 6’3” Michigan (SR) 7/5/0 from Chicago
*Lety Vasconcelos - 6’7” Baylor (FR) 1/2/0.4 from Brazil. Played with Cori Allen at Montverde.