Illinois Women's Basketball Recruit Cori Allen Update
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Illinois Women's Basketball Recruit Cori Allen Update
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Keep An Eye Out for Georgetown Transfer Brandon Murray
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Recruiting: 2023 Commit Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn Is Locked In & Ready To Go
By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting
April 6, 2023
(Cover photo courtesy Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn)
As expected, the Illinois men's basketball team has lost three players to the transfer portal: guard Jayden Epps, forward RJ Melendez, and center Brandon Lieb.
With so many players entering the portal, some coaches around the country are trying to use that as a negative towards the Illinois program. But the reasons players transfer are all different and not always the fault of the school, program, or coaches. Some like different systems, others want to be closer to home or near family members with health issues.
Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn is a four-star commit to the Illini program who will be arriving on campus this summer. I caught up with his dad Ben Gibbs for an exclusive interview, during which he described to me their relationship when it comes to his college career.
Transfer Portal - Very Possible Illinois Candidate
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Sturdy's April 4th Portal Kombat Update
By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst
April 4th, 2023
(Cover photo courtesy Grand Canyon University Athletics)
(Note: this was posted on the IlliniGuys.com message forums Tuesday morning. For instant access to the very latest Illini news, subscribe to IlliniGuys.com here: https://illiniguys.com/subscribe/
Happy Post National title game day.
It's a wild time for college athletics, and basketball is probably the craziest. There are roughly 4500 players on Division I basketball scholarships. Take out roughly 800 that are out of eligibility, then throw in a few NBA guys and you have 1,243 guys in the portal. That is over 1/3. And more are coming. Portal Kombat.
For high school kids, this is a wild time. First, they continue to lose opportunities to kids that are using 'COVID years'. Second, high majors aren't often taking 4 or 5 Freshmen, because they will transfer out anyway. What's crazy is the best way right now to build a program is to find a kid like Jayden Epps that has already gotten experience and has used his transfer, but still has 3 years of eligibility left
RJ Melendez Becomes Latest Illini Addition to Transfer Portal
RJ Melendez, a 6-foot-7 wing who played 21.6 minutes […]
Illini Wing RJ Melendez Makes It Official By Entering The Portal
By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting April […]
Charles Barkley Is Right - And Wrong - About The Future Of College Basketball
By Larry Smith - Host and Executive Producer, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular
April 2, 2023
(Cover photo courtesy USA Today)
In a brilliant scheduling move by CBS last Sunday, the Eye network ran an in-depth piece on the loquacious and always entertaining Charles Barkley on "60 Minutes". The former NBA All-Star makes more money now and raises more eyebrows - hard to believe - than he did during his playing days. I've had the pleasure of knowing Charles personally for about 20 years; working alongside him at Turner Sports and even doing a long-form sit-down interview as part of a series I was working on at the time.
What makes him so special - and he said as much during this terrific segment done by former Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim and his excellent producer - is that he's honest. He once told me that he doesn't do social media and doesn't have a public relations firm speaking for him. He says what he thinks, whether it's right or wrong and regardless if you like it or not.
Update on Illinois High School Star Hayven Smith as She Prepares for AAU Season
Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting
April 1, 2023
Illinois women's assistant coach Ryan Gensler was named the head coach of the Akron Zips on Wednesday morning.
Sturdy's March 31 Portal Kombat Update
Brad Sturdy, Co-Host IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular
March 31, 2023
Lots going on behind the scenes and much will have to happen before this all plays out. Stay tuned, but here's what I know as of now:
Direct Contact with Illinois Per the Transfer Portal
Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting
March 31, 2023
Is this not a fun time of the year? Just think how everyone was excited about the first game last October, and now the NCAA Transfer portal is in rare form.
Illini Center Brandon Lieb Enters Transfer Portal
By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting March […]
Heat Checks and Hail Marys - Building a Team in the NIL & Transfer Portal Era
Mike Cagley, Co-Host IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular March 29, 2023 […]
Illinois Assistant Coach Ryan Gensler Hired As Women’s Basketball Head Coach at Akron
Illinois head coach Shauna Green will now have to […]
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