Champaign, ILL.– Head Coach Brad Underwood announced Monday that Jacob Grandison has signed a Big Ten Tender of Financial Aid with the University of Illinois and is joining the Fighting Illini program as a transfer. Grandison will sit out the upcoming season and have two years of eligibility remaining with the Illini during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.
Grandison is a 6-6, 200-pound forward/guard who played the past two seasons at Holy Cross. He started all 33 games as a sophomore, leading the Crusaders and ranking 11th in the Patriot League in scoring at 13.9 points per game, to go along with averages of 5.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals. He also led Holy Cross with 69 three-pointers on the year, with the average of 2.1 treys per game ranking eighth in the Patriot.
Grandison scored in double figures in 26 games, with eight 20-plus point performances. He set his career scoring high with 25 points at Iona on Dec. 30. The 36.5-percent 3-point shooter went a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the arc at Harvard on Nov. 28 and knocked down a career-best six treys in two games, vs. Sienna (Nov. 18) and Navy (Jan. 26).
Grandison flirted with triple-doubles on two occasions, posting 21 points, eight rebounds and a career-high 10 assists vs. Stony Brook on Nov. 16 along with the 25-point, nine-rebound, eight-assist performance at Iona (Dec. 30). Grandison recorded his first double-double (pts-reb) at Lafayette on March 5, tallying 22 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.
"We are very excited with adding Jacob Grandison to our program and the traits he will bring to our team," Underwood said. "You're talking about an extremely versatile player at the forward spot who also has perimeter skills which will allow him to play different positions. He is a skilled player who can really pass, scores it inside and out with the ability to stretch the defense on catch-and-shoot threes, and he has a physical disposition that allows him to defend and rebound.
"Jacob is an outstanding person and good student who is well prepared to handle this transition, as he is going from one outstanding school in Holy Cross to another in the University of Illinois," Underwood added. "He is eager to get here and make the most of his sit-out year, helping prepare our team for the upcoming season while continuing to improve his game and develop his body to help us down the road when he returns to game action."
The Oakland, California native averaged 9.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists as a freshman in 2017-18.
During his two-year career at Holy Cross, Grandison started 51 of 64 games, totaling 737 points (11.5 ppg), 305 rebounds (4.8 rpg) and 158 assists (2.5 apg).
