Illinois Dream Transfer Target John Blackwell to Enter Portal

The Blackwell name is a familiar one around Illinois basketball circles. Glynn Blackwell played with the Illini for four seasons (1984-1988) under legendary head coach Lou Henson, averaging a career-best 12.1 points as a senior to help Illinois to a third-place finish in the Big Ten.

And over the past three seasons – and especially in the past two months – the Illini have been reacquainted with the Blackwell family, as Glynn’s son, John, has been giving Illinois fits as a member of the Wisconsin Badgers.

An All-Big Ten honoree, Blackwell was superb in 2025-26, averaging 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists. But he seemingly saved his best performances solely for Illinois, against which he scored 24 points en route to an overtime victory in Champaign in mid-February, before dropping 31 more in the Big Ten Tournament (also an overtime victory for Wisconsin).

Wisconsin guard John Blackwell plans to enter transfer portal

Interestingly, the Illini may not have to be on the wrong side of Blackwell any longer. A junior guard who has one year of eligibility remaining, Blackwell plans to enter the transfer portal (which officially opens Tuesday) and will also test the NBA Draft waters, per ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. It’s all but a foregone conclusion that Illinois will throw its hat in the ring, and it wouldn’t be a shock if Brad Underwood and his staff were to make Blackwell priority No. 1.

BREAKING: Wisconsin guard John Blackwell plans to enter the transfer portal while going through the NBA draft process, he told ESPN. Blackwell, who averaged 19.1 points and earned All-Big Ten honors this past season, becomes the best guard in the portal. pic.twitter.com/zVaqncygPi
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) April 6, 2026

Listed at 6-foot-4, 203 pounds, Blackwell – a tremendously physical downhill driver – punches above his weight class around the rim. He has enough burst to get past bigger defenders, and he simply overpowers any smaller guards. Toss in his patience and craftiness around the cup, and Blackwell leaves defenders – including those wearing Illinois jerseys in 2025-26 – with zero answers for slowing down his rim-attacking ability.

Pair that slashing game with a deep midrange bag and exceptional three-point shooting – the latter of which leapt forward in 2025-26 (2.8 threes at 38.9 percent shooting) – and Blackwell is a bona fide program-changing three-level scorer.

Why Illinois needs to go all in on John Blackwell

Apr 4, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood reacts after a play against the UConn Huskies during the first half of a semifinal of the Final Four of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

If he elects to stick around for one more season of college hoops (instead of going to the NBA), Blackwell will be an immediate All-American candidate. Any program – including Illinois – would happily hand him the reins of its offense. And especially with the loss of Kylan Boswell and expected departure of lead guard Keaton Wagler (NBA Draft), Blackwell would be a top option for immediately and seamlessly filling that void for the Illini.

Operating under the assumption Underwood is able to keep the rest of the remaining crew around – which is never a guarantee – the wings (Jake Davis and Andrej Stojakovic) and frontcourt (David Mirkovic, Tomislav Ivisic and Zvonimir Ivisic) are cemented. But a go-to perimeter playmaker is necessary for the Illini offense to continue to function at its elite level. And there may not be a better player in the country to step into that role than Blackwell.