Basketball

Following the first full day of in-season practice, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood knows he’ll have to coach his young, inexperienced point guards through early-season blunders.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

September 26, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy George Walker IV/Nashville Tennessean

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Following one day of preseason practice, Brad Underwood isn’t under this perception that the road to success for his point guards won’t be a consistently smooth drive. 

Following the departure of Trent Frazier to graduation and Andre Curbelo to the transfer portal, the lead guard position at Illinois is set to have the team’s most important transformation leading into a 2022-23 campaign. 

At this point last season, Underwood was content with Frazier, a fifth-year senior and then-sophomore Curbelo understanding everything they wanted from the moment of the first minute of preseason practice. Now, nothing can be guaranteed about the chemistry as Illinois looks to replace all five starters from last year’s Big Ten regular season championship starting lineup. 

September 26th, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

College basketball teams across the country open practice today.  It's a date that's earlier than in the past and means that new Illini women's basketball coach Shauna Green will get to spend extended time with her players a few weeks sooner.

Coach Green recently appeared on the syndicated IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular radio show to talk about the process of reshaping the Fighting Illini program:

Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting 

September 25, 2022

The Fighting Illini men's basketball team is still flexing its muscles in the world of recruiting.

Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

September 22, 2022

This is a big week for the men's basketball staff as they have a former 2023 top 10 recruit on campus starting Thursday. Montverde Academy point guard Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn is a four-star recruit at 6-foot-0 and 165 pounds. It is said to be a two-team race between Illinois and Memphis.

Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting 

September 21, 2022

The Illinois men's basketball staff has been amazing on the recruiting trail for the past several years.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

September 20, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

Peoria, Ill. -- Former Peoria Manual guard Da’Monte Williams committed to play for his home state university, following in the footsteps of his father, Illinois great and former Big Ten MVP Frank Williams. 

Coming out of high school, Illinois battled Indiana for his commitment, but he stayed loyal to Illinois and reconnected the Peoria pipeline back to Champaign.

Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting 

September 18, 2022

The Fighting Illini women’s basketball and men’s football has mustered some top recruits on campus in the past few weeks.

Brad Sturdy, IlliniGuy

September 17, 2022

Dravyn Gibbs Lawhorn is

Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting 

September 16, 2022

Most of you remember the recruitment of Jeremy Fears Jr. Illinois was in the hunt for Fears until the end.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

September 9, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Nashville Tennessean)

Just when you thought the men's basketball and football programs were the only two aggressive recruiters early in the year, think again. New Illini women's head basketball coach Shauna Green is selling her message that Illinois is a place where you can win and has everything a potential recruit could want.

This weekend the Illini will host Cori Allen, a 5-foot-10 guard-forward from Nashville, Tennessee, who transferred to Montverde Academy. Allen is a major priority for Coach Green and her staff. Winning the battle would do wonders for her program, considering Allen currently has 30 DI offers.

Brad Sturdy, IlliniGuy

September 8, 2022

We have known who the Illini were going to play in the Big Ten since June 16th, but what we didn’t know was when they were going to play them.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

September 6, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

One of Illinois head coach Brad Underwood's favorite buzzwords is “Elite.” What Underwood has done in just six years at Illinois has put together an elite group of assistant coaches.

The future of any collegiate program is how well teams can recruit. During Underwood's short time at Illinois, he has put together some of the best staffs in the game.  Twice!

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

September 4, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Nashville Tennessean)

It's Labor Day weekend and that means we are this much closer to the first official day of college basketball practice. 

It does not matter if you are a Big Ten fan or not, the conference and its rich history deserve your respect. Some of the best players to ever play the game came from the Big Ten. 

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said once, "The coaching in this league is tough; you better bring it night in and night out or you will get beat."

For example, last year the Nebraska Cornhuskers finished the season in conference play at 4-14 and went on the road to beat first-place Wisconsin - which finished at 15-5 - 74-73 with two of their best players out of action.

Now comes a new group of talented freshmen who will be expected to continue to keep the bar at the top when it comes to recruiting. 

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

August 30, 2022

How successful has Illinois recruiting been?  Barring a surprise, their class of 2023 is now complete with priority target Amani Hansberry committed.  That leaves the coaches to spend their valuable time on the class of 2024 and, yes, even the incoming sophomore class. 

Brad Sturdy, IlliniGuy

August 28, 2022

Amani Hansberry became the first