Meyers Leonard gets all up in his feelings with 11-tweet thread on Illinois basketball
04/01/2025 06:13 PM
Like many former college basketball stars, Meyers Leonard is not a fan of how the game has changed. As a former lottery pick out of Illinois, Leonard reflected on how his career went and how he feels the college basketball transfer portal does not allow for many similar journeys.
As the 2025 offseason once again revolved around the portal, Leonard felt inspired to share his personal story with a series of tweets. The 10-year NBA veteran admitted he does not know what it is like to be paid as a college athlete but misses when he played solely because he “loved Illini basketball.”
“Now, I have absolutely no idea what the NIL is like, what a transfer portal is like, what it’s like to hire an agent and make so much money in college,” Leonard tweeted. “Because I didn’t experience it… But I will also say, I love that playing for the Illini was just about representing the state of Illinois, my hometown, etc.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Hell, I don’t know what I would’ve done with the money some of these guys are making. I simply loved Illini basketball.”
Leonard delved into the story of how he cried in the office of then-head coach Bruce Weber after averaging just 2.1 points per game as a freshman. Opening up about his vulnerability in his struggles to adjust to the physicality of the Big Ten, Leonard reflected on how Weber reinstalled confidence in him.
Meyers Leonard criticizes college basketball transfer portal
Looking back on his time in Champaign over a decade later, Leonard feels that Weber unlocked the potential that led to him being the No. 11 pick of the 2012 NBA Draft. The 33-year-old retired center believes similar experiences are few and far between with players now so eager to enter the college basketball transfer portal.
“I am SO grateful for my two years at University of Illinois,” Leonard continued. “What an awesome school… All in all — I’m not calling anybody out. I’m simply saying that I wish these young men would sometimes find it from deep within to be more loyal, to take accountability if they don’t play the way they know (and fans and coaches) they can play, and not just leave.”
Leonard has recently been nostalgic about his entire basketball career since he officially announced his retirement with the release of a country single. He confirmed his song “Good in Goodbye” was the first of many as he attempts a new career in music.
Leonard’s post comes after Illinois lost three players to the college basketball transfer portal within one week. Carey Booth became the first to enter the portal and was soon joined by Morez Johnson Jr. and Tre White.
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