It is certainly one way to stop the bleeding.

Illini men’s basketball head coach John Groce announced Wednesday that Darius Paul and Ahmad Starks will be joining his program.

The transfers will be a welcome sigh of relief for Illini fans who have seen four athletes jump ship from the school in a couple of weeks, most recently including sophomore guard Myke Henry.

Paul will be joining the team as a sophomore from Western Michigan, where he was named Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 10.4 points and 5.7 rebounds, starting in 33 games for the Broncos.

Paul will be looking to help a slightly depleted roster that lost his older brother, Brandon, last year.

Groce said in a statement that Darius Paul is a talented player whose “versatility and skill will be a welcome addition as we continue to move this program forward.”

Chicago-native and Whitney Young-alumnus Ahmad Starks is a 5-foot-9 guard who will be transferring to Illinois to be closer to his ailing grandmother. The former Oregon State player will be coming off a season in which he averaged 10.4 points, two rebounds and 2.3 assists as a junior.

Starks played a total of 73 games for the Beavers and finished as the program’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals. He scored 991 points and 185 3-pointers during his time there, and Groce will be looking for him to bring the same offensive firepower to his home state.

“He was an accomplished player at Oregon State but has elected to return closer to home for family reasons,” Groce said in a statement. “Ahmad is an explosive scorer who is capable of making plays for others as well. His versatility will help bolster our backcourt.”