NCAA Basketball: 8 potential landing spots for Illinois transfer Jacob Grandison

With one year of eligibility remaining, former Illinois guard Jacob Grandison put his name into the NCAA Basketball transfer portal just a few days ago. A native of northern California, Grandison was not a hot commodity out of high school, initially enrolling at Holy Cross under coach Bill Carmody. He quickly worked his way into the lineup for the Crusaders, starting 50 games in his two seasons at Holy Cross and making a certain impact.

After averaging 13.9 points per game in his sophomore season, Grandison transferred to Illinois, sitting out the 2019-20 season as per transfer regulations. He spent the last two seasons at Illini, starting off as a role player and shooter and working his way into one of the most important pieces in Brad Underwood’s rotation. In each season at Illinois, he made at least 40% of his 3-pointers, though he attempted significantly more this past season as opposed to his first year with the Illini.

He may have averaged just 9.6 points per game this season, but Grandison converted 41% of his 134 long-range attempts and was a solid shooter all over the court. He made nearly half his shots this past season from the floor and was an important cog in an Illini offense that depended on their shooters to offset talented center Kofi Cockburn. Grandison played his role well, even if he didn’t stand out as a star on the team or in the Big Ten.

Now, Grandison is moving forward, withdrawing from the NBA Draft consideration and leaving Champaign with a degree. The Illini roster will look extremely different next season, while Grandison hunts for that perfect spot to spend his final college campaign. We’re going to take a quick look at eight different teams that would be solid matches for him to spend that final year.