Basketball

The 7-foot, 285-pound consensus All-American owes it to himself to find out where he stands with NBA teams after enjoying a breakout year with the Illini.  Cockburn averaged 17.7 points and a Big Ten-leading 9.5 rebounds a game this season, a campaign in which he got significantly better from November to March.

Cockburn became one of the toughest players in college basketball to guard, often drawing double and sometimes triple teams every time he got the ball.  Teammate and fellow All-American Ayo Dosunmu may have been the team's leader and biggest star, but it was Cockburn who opposing teams lost sleep trying to figure out how to slow him down.

“Illinois has everything I am looking for in a school and more. I liked all the schools that were interested in me - Florida, Georgia, Texas Tech, and Yale,” Plummer said.

Blame not our favorite Floridian since Derek Harper (sorry, Chainsaw), but the special concession made by the NCAA in the face of the pandemic.  Because the 2020 postseason was wiped out and the 2020-21 season saw several teams lose games due to COVID, college players this season will be given the option to play a 5th season.  Diehard fans know that's not terribly uncommon; players are given five years to play four seasons.  The difference here is players can compete in a 5th full season, without having a redshirt year along the way.

Thus the dilemma for Frazier and classmate DaMonte Williams (who, at the time of this posting, has not announced if he will return for an extra season in orange and blue).  Both are full four-year lettermen who get an extra year of action if they want it.  A free scholarship that doesn't count against the team's allotment of 13, an exemption which could make this Illini squad one of the deepest ever.

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With the recent commitments of Storr and Bass, the spotlight is back on Noah Best, a 6'5" point guard from Mount Saint Michael Academy in the Bronx, New York.

Illinois has already found a perfect fit - and filled its most pressing need - in landing 6'10" transfer Omar Payne from Florida.  Their next target is "Flamethrower" Alfonso Plummer; that name comes from Plummer's shooting ability. IlliniGuys.com Basketball Guru Brad Sturdy said, “Ked, this kid is the real deal; he can stroke it. He may be the best shooter available in the portal.”

The 6'1" shooting guard played two seasons at Arizona Western College before playing the past two years for Utah.  He's entered the NBA draft, but is also in the transfer portal to potentially take advantage of the extra "COVID" year that's been given to players.  Plummer averaged 13 points per game and shot 38% from 3-point territory this season for Utah.  His biggest game for the Utes came a year ago, when he drained eleven 3-pointers in a 35-point night against Oregon State in the Pac-12 Tournament.

It is not often that Illinois goes head-to-head with the likes of Kentucky, Kansas and Wake Forest, and wins a key recruiting battle for a highly coveted recruit at a position of need.

The Illini added 6'6 scoring machine Brandin Podziemski to […]

It’s decision day for Wisconsin Mr. Basketball Brandin Podziemski on Tuesday

Fast-forward today and Underwood's vision is real...well, except for the fans.  Speaking to IlliniGuy Brad Sturdy on his popular "Sturdy For 30" podcast, Underwood admitted the toughest thing about this breakthrough season is that the fans - due to COVID restrictions - weren't able to witness it live and rock the house.

The two Brads talk candidly about the pain of the Loyola game, the most special moment of this season (this will surprise you), and how to sculpt the next edition of the Illini while wading through this unprecedented offseason. 

2023 Intro - Ty Pence As the Illini navigate […]

[AAU coach] Ricks said Illinois was not the only school with an eye for talented players because Ohio State, Texas A&M, LSU, Marquette, Miami, North Carolina State, Georgia, and Texas all pursued Payne as soon as he entered the transfer portal in late March.

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting April […]

Brad Underwood joins Sturdy to discuss a myriad of […]

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting April […]