CHAMPAIGN — Illinois’ incoming transfer class is now officially at five with the Illini announcing Thursday that Evansville forward Ben Humrichous has signed his Big Ten Tender of Financial aid.
“We’re excited with the addition of Ben, a grad transfer who has tremendous college experience and is a talented, versatile, offensive player,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “He is an elite shooter at 6-9; can shoot off the dribble, off screens, pick-and-pops, and play in post ups and isolations. He is a high character young man who is just an outstanding fit for how we want to play on the offensive end.”
Humrichous spent the 2023-24 season at Evansville after transferring from Huntington University — an NAIA program in northern Indiana. The 6-9 forward out of Tipton, Ind., started all 24 games he played for the Purple Aces last season and averaged 14.7 points and 4.7 rebounds. He shot 48 percent overall, 41 percent from three-point range (the fourth-best mark in the Missouri Valley Conference) and 76 percent at the free-throw line.
Humrichous’ three seasons at Huntington saw the Foresters post a combined 63-30 record and make back-to-back NAIA tournament appearances during his sophomore and junior years. He averaged 12.4 points and 5.6 rebounds and knocked down 114 total three-pointers in that two-year stretch.
The signing of Humrichous comes after Illinois previously announced the addition of transfers Jake Davis (Mercer), Tre White (Louisville), Kylan Boswell (Arizona) and Carey Booth (Notre Dame). All four have multiple seasons of eligibility remaining. Humrichous will play his final season in Champaign.
Walking in Memphis
Top prospects gathered in Memphis, Tenn., this past weekend for the first session of the Nike EYBL season. High school recruiting has taken a back seat to the transfer portal of late, but Class of 2025 prospects should still have it better than their predecessors from the last few years. Those soon-to-be high school seniors at least won’t have to contend with offseason roster building including an extra pool of available players looking to use their COVID bonus year.
But teams are still going to hit the portal. Getting old is the preference. Playing true freshman — save for the absolute tip-top prospects — is not.
But AAU hoops continues, and several players with Illinois offers were in Memphis. Some shined bright. Here’s a roundup of some performances at the EYBL, E16 and E15 levels:
Jeremiah Fears
Fears, of course, is Illinois’ lone commit in the Class of 2025. The four/five-star guard is playing for Indy Heat this spring and averaged 19.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and two assists in three games in Memphis.
AJ Dybantsa
Dybantsa is the No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2025 — a status he held even after reclassifying up from the 2026 class. He thrived on the EYBL circuit last year and did so again in Memphis, putting up 26.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Deron Rippey
Rippey scored in double figures in three of four games in Memphis for New Heights Lightning’s E16 team. The four-star guard in the Class of 2026 out of Blair Academy (N.J.), averaged 12 points, 2.8 assists and 2.3 rebounds and scored 13 points three times and had an assist-to-turnover rate of 1.4-to-1.
Jashawn “JJ” Andrews
Andrews is one of the top prospects in the Class of 2026 and ranked as high as No. 13 and as a five-star recruit by ESPN. His first weekend with MOKAN Elite’s E16 team showed why, with the 6-6 guard putting up 17.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
Davion Thompson
Thompson’s 27-point effort in Meansteets’ E15 win against Alabama Fusion was only a precursor of a big performance to come later in the weekend in Memphis. The Bolingbrook freshman went off for 47 points, courtesy of eight three-pointers, in a Sunday win against Florida Rebels.
Antigua’s influence
The transfer portal has every college basketball fan base’s attention. Why wouldn’t it? Plucking players from the portal is how rosters are built these days.
High school recruits? They’ve become secondary. But not entirely obsolete.
Especially if you’ve just hired (again) one of the top recruiters in the country. And Orlando Antigua is already adding to Illinois’ recruiting board. The latest targets? That would be consensus four-star forward/center Malachi Moreno, who Antigua was also recruiting at Kentucky, and Pittsburgh native Amari Evans, who has ties to a prep program based in the Bronx, N.Y. Right up Antigua’s alley.
Moreno helped Great Crossing (Ky.) go 36-2 last season and reach the quarterfinals of the KHSAA state tournament. He averaged 16 points, 13.3 rebounds, 3.7 blocks and 2.2 assists on the season while shooting 66 percent from the field. Moreno also put up 14.9 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.8 blocks per game as a sophomore for the Warhawks.
Evans, a 6-5, 204-pound guard, has played in Overtime Elite the past two seasons, and played for Our Saviour Lutheran (that NYC-based program) as a sophomore. He was with City Reapers this year in OTE and averaged 10.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.2 steals during the regulars season. He also put up 11.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 2.3 assists per game during the OTE playoffs.
Evans is ranked as a four-star recruit by both On3 and ESPN, while 247Sports has him as a three-star prospect. Nationally, On3 puts Evans as the No. 72 overall prospect, and he holds a mix of power conference and mid-major offers.
