Illinois Basketball: Illini land huge transfer in forward Matthew Mayer

Illinois basketball landed a huge commitment with Matthew Mayer joining the team for the 2022-2023 season. He will be a key piece to their success.

Illinois basketball had a rather disappointing end to their season in the second round against Houston in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Now gone are the likes of star center Kofi Cockburn, guards Trent Frazier, Andre Curbelo, among others.

Losing that much for a lot of teams would most likely mean a huge step back the following season. Coach Brad Underwood and the rest of the coaching staff have other plans as they have had a very good offseason these last few months. It continued on Friday when Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer announced he would be playing next year at Illinois.

Many people in the college basketball world thought that Mayer was destined to commit to North Carolina and fill the Brady Manek role in Chapel Hill. Underwood had other ideas as he was able to convince Mayer to come play in Champaign in 2022-2023 for the Illini.

Mayer is not the only Baylor Bear that will be putting on an Illinois jersey soon. Former Baylor forward Dain Dainja committed to Illinois last November. He will help try to fill the void for Cockburn down low in the post. Underwood was also able land former Texas Tech combo guard/forward in Terrence Shannon Jr. which was very impressive since he had many suitors.

The former top 100 recruit coming out of high school in Mayer had a very nice four-year career at Baylor. He will be using his final year of eligibility at Illinois. Mayer averaged 9.6 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist last season for the Bears.

Mayer being 6-9 will provide Illinois with another length player. Having a long and athletic roster is never a bad thing to have out there on the court. You also have to factor in Mayer’s ability to step out and knock down the three-point shot. Mayer shot 32% from beyond the three-point line last season.

Both graduate transfer players in Mayer and Shannon Jr. bring some much-needed leadership to a younger Illinois roster. They have also had a lot of success the last few years, especially in March being on teams who have made very deep runs in the NCAA Tournament.

Illinois fans are hoping both of them bring some of that postseason success to Illinois this upcoming season.

With Mayer and Shannon Jr. on board, returning guys like Coleman Hawkins, RJ Melendez, and a very talented incoming freshman class featuring guard Skyy Clark should make this team a legit contender again in the Big Ten.

Illini nation should be very excited about this upcoming season. On paper, it looks like a team who will be a lot of fun to watch.